U of I Soybean Innovation Lab saved with $1 million anonymous donation
URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — University of Illinois' Soybean Innovation Lab will keep its doors open for another year.
The Feed the Future Soybean Innovation Lab was scheduled to close on April 15. The Trump administration cut funding for all of the USAID foreign aid contracts in February, which is where the laboratory received its funding.
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University officials announced Monday that an anonymous donor stepped up and pledged a $1.02 million donation to fund the lab and its core staff for 12 months.
SIL director Pete Goldsmith said the grant will continue some essential work and allow them to apply for different funding sources.
'We will use the gift to restart our efforts with our partners and clients bringing soybean to the Lower Shire Valley of southern Malawi diversifying the Lower Shire economy and leveraging recent World Bank irrigation investments,' said Goldsmith, who also is an emeritus professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois.
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The work of SIL does not only help African countries, but is also a boon for the U.S. and global economies with more places growing soybeans.
'Africa is the last frontier for soybean. It`s one of the fastest-growing areas and has huge potential. But someone has to go in and de-risk commercial interests. That's what SIL does,' Goldsmith added. 'We go in and de-risk, build the market, and reduce uncertainty so that farmers in trade can follow on. And it's not just farmers, it's traders, it's processors. We've been very effective at it. Without us, there's no plan B.'
Anyone interested in donating to SIL can visit UIUC's GiveCampus page and selecting other, and writing 'Dr. Peter Goldsmith Support Fund – 11335457.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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