Soybean research program, a “win-win-win,” is a victim of USAID cuts
Soybean research program, a “win-win-win,” is a victim of USAID cuts
Since virtually the first day of the second Trump administration, Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency have been dismantling federal agencies and claiming as savings the billions of dollars those agencies spend on aid and assistance, contracts and research.
One of, if not the agency hit hardest, is the U.S. Agency for International Development. Among the programs funded by USAID and soon to be shut down are 19 university labs across the country focused on soybean research.
Peter Goldsmith, director and principal investigator of the Soybean Innovation Lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, told “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal that his work has addressed poverty and malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa while providing opportunities for U.S. growers.
“It was just win-win-win all the way around,” Goldsmith said. But now, “we’re dead in the water.” The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.
Kai Ryssdal: Let us know what the Soybean Innovation Lab does?
Peter Goldsmith: The Soybean Innovation Lab was established in 2013 with the mission to establish the foundations for the soybean market in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ryssdal: Big picture here, sir: Why do soybeans matter?
Goldsmith: Soybeans matter for a number of reasons. Principally, because they’ve shown to be a superior economic engine for an economy. Meaning, when a country adopts soybeans as the base source of protein and oil, a lot of good things happen. For economists, it has a high industrial multiplier, so a lot of people benefit. But it’s also good for the U.S., the agricultural economy and the agribusinesses, the farmers, because we have what’s called a comparative advantage. We’re really good at producing soybeans. And when other regions of the world adopt soybean, they become markets for our soybean. So, it’s very good for trade.
Ryssdal: So, with a nod to David Ricardo here, then what happens on, as I understand it, the 15th of April, when your Soybean Innovation Lab shuts down because USAID funding, whence you get most of your funding from, is being closed?
Goldsmith: So our work is dead stop and will mothball all of our technologies. From the larger picture, SIL was truly impactful at executing its mission. So currently, the dominant food oil in sub-Saharan Africa is palm oil. And SIL was affecting significant change, having the processors and the industry switch over. Which would have been very good for U.S. growers, creating a new market in a region that is the largest and fastest-growing region in the world that doesn’t know soy. So this was a huge opportunity loss for U.S. growers.
Ryssdal: On the theory that “nature abhors a vacuum,” now that America is departing the field, in so many fields, but specifically now soybeans, leaves an opportunity for others, right? The Chinese, the Europeans.
Goldsmith: Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, we’re on the ground in 31 countries, and the Chinese are quite active as well as other countries. And there isn’t a Plan B. Europeans, for example, they have a preference for non-GM [genetically modified] products. The U.S. industrial standard is based on genetically modified technologies. And as you said, nature abhors a vacuum. All countries outside of South Africa currently are non-GM. That means U.S beans are not welcome. And that, to me, would be a problem, and that’s what is the kind of the opportunity loss.
Ryssdal: Fair to call this your life’s work. Mr. Goldsmith?
Goldsmith: Yes. For those who know me, I have had several careers, but since 2012, when I wrote the original proposal, I’ve really focused on soy to address poverty and malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa. So, it is, it was, my life’s work at the time.
Ryssdal: So how you feeling now?
Goldsmith: It’s, it’s rough. I think not only did we know we were having impact, but we were doing a good thing. There were really no losers. The private sector was taking over in a number of places, and the U.S. growers were potential winners in the future. The U.S. industry was already, we are closely partnered with them, they were already intrigued. It was just win-win-win all the way around. And we just got caught up in, you know, an unfortunate storm. Yeah, we’re dead in the water.
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