The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced a $458,000 Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant to the Kansas Wheat Commission of Manhattan, KS, to support expanded research and commercialization efforts of the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center (KWIC). The project is expected to create 50 jobs and generate $1.9 million in additional investment, according to grantee estimates.
“This EDA investment will help expand the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center’s efforts to reinvigorate wheat genetics research and will support the commercialization of an agricultural product that is not only a staple food product, but a major U.S. export that supports thousands of jobs throughout the country,”
said Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Matt Erskine.
The EDA investment will allow for the purchase of equipment for biotechnology research and development at the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center. This will boost the capabilities of the Heartland Plant Innovations and the Wheat Genetics and Genomics Resource Center at Kansas State University to provide advanced plant breeding services and engage in public-private collaborative research and commercialization efforts for newly developed varieties of wheat.
