By Chris Vivian
The University of Florida has been selected by the U.S. Department of State to lead the new Feed the Future Innovation Lab for High-Value Crops — SAFE (Safeguarding Agriculture, Food and Economy).
Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the SAFE Lab will protect the fruits, vegetables and spices that feed American families and sustain smallholder farmers worldwide. The UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences-led SAFE lab will help detect and contain crop pests and diseases overseas before they threaten Florida and American farms, while advancing postharvest practices that reduce food losses, improve food safety and expand access to nutritious food.
Led by UF/IFAS, the SAFE Lab will work in Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Nepal, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic — countries that supply produce to U.S. markets and where crop pests and diseases may first appear.
Karen Garrett, Ph.D., director of the newly formed SAFE Lab and professor in the UF/IFAS Department of Plant Pathology, said Florida knows what is at stake. Imported plants and seeds can carry pests and diseases that threaten growers in the United States. The scale of the challenge is substantial, she said. In 2024 alone, U.S. inspectors intercepted around 1,800 quarantine-significant pests among 1.8 billion imported plant units and seeds. Border inspection alone cannot be the only line of defense.
Source : ufl.edu