Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Cereals
Led by Kansas State University, our research aims to increase the resiliency of pearl millet, rice, sorghum, and wheat. Our work supports farmers and advances the global effort to double the world’s food supply by 2050.
Our Research and Why It Matters
Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Cereals is a U.S. government-funded research program working to improve the genetics of wheat, sorghum, millet and rice. Our research focuses on strengthening these crops against environmental stressors such as disease, heat, cold, flood and drought. We bring together experts from around the world to maximize results.
Crop improvements deliver real returns by reducing disaster-related losses and steadying food and feed supplies. A strong U.S. agricultural sector helps stabilize our economy, impacts economic growth, boosts markets and contributes to national security.
Cereal Crops
The Cereals Lab concentrates on four of the world's most important cereals to increase production, resilience and long-term food supply.
Global Challenges
Latest News
Seeds of Hope: Growing Wheat and Resilience Across Two Continents
February 2026Dr. Amadou Sall, a researcher at the Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research (ISRA), has spent years helping smallholder farmers beat the odds of heat. “We used to think wheat couldn’t grow here without irrigation,” he says. “But we know our farmers. They can make anything grow if they have the right tools.”
Those tools now come from the heartland of America. At Kansas State University’s Wheat Genetics Resource Center (WGRC), scientist Benjamin Osae works with one of the world’s richest collections of wild wheat— more than 4,000 accessions from 29 species of wheat ancestors gathered from across the globe. “Each one carries a story,” Benjamin explains. “Some survive desert heat, others flourish on little water. Together, they hold the keys to the future.”