Non Technical Summary
Global engagement by Universities with international partners is fundamental for building multicultural competency among our nation's future agricultural workforce. Students of agriculture and related sciences must understand global food systems in order to produce safe and nutritious diets for expanding populations. This proposal brings together the University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM), Innov8Africa, and the Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network (LFN) in a three-year initiative to strengthen foundations of sustainable food security through education, research, and outreach in Northwest Tennessee and Kenya. UTM faculty will mentor undergraduate students, facilitate service-learning trips to Africa, conduct various research projects in consultation with Innov8, and assist LFN to develop learning partnerships between K-12 schools in Northwest Tennessee and Kenya. Specific objectives will 1) Enhance the curriculum in agriculture at UTM by developing educational and outreach experiences in an international food system; 2) conduct research to improve nutrition, water usage, and food production in Kenya and the U.S; 3) To improve long-term food production, food security, and rural school nutrition in Kenya while enhancing the agriculture education and farm-to-table programs at Northwest Tennessee schools through educational, research, and outreach activities; and 4) Engage U.S. and Kenya stakeholders in activities that promote interest and success in agricultural-related education, practice, and resource management across the lifespan. Achieving these objectives will promote global competence in our nation's future agricultural workforce and align with the United Nations' worldwide goals of ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition, promoting sustainable agriculture, and ensuring availability and sustainable management of water.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
704	1499	3020	25%
704	6099	3020	25%
111	0210	3020	15%
307	3410	3020	10%
302	1699	3020	25%

Knowledge Area
302 - Nutrient Utilization in Animals; 111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water; 307 - Animal Management Systems; 704 - Nutrition and Hunger in the Population;

Subject Of Investigation
1499 - Vegetables, general/other; 1699 - Pasture and forage crops, general/other; 0210 - Water resources; 6099 - People and communities, general/other; 3410 - Dairy cattle, live animal;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;

Goals / Objectives
The overall objective of this project is to build capacity for establishing a sustainable partnership between the University of Tennessee at Martin, Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network, and Innov8 Africa in the areas of global food security, nutrition, and natural resources management through research, education, and outreach programs.. Specific objectives of the project are:1. To enhance the curricula in agriculture and related disciplines at UTM by developing educational and outreach experiences for UTM students and faculty, as well as for K-12 students and educators in the U.S. and Kenya, thus building capacity at UTM to attract, educate, and prepare diverse student populations for the future.2. To conduct joint agriculture & nutrition research, using multiple methods to examine and improve water usage, small-scale forage, row crop, fruit and vegetable production in Kenya and the U.S.3. To improve long-term food production, food security, and rural school nutrition in Narok County (Kenya) while enhancing the agriculture education and farm-to-table programs at Weakley County (TN) schools through educational, research, and outreach activities. (1670 Kenya kids, 22 teachers in 3 schools)4. To engage U.S. and Kenya stakeholders (e.g., agricultural and community leaders, K-12 educators and students, nonprofit organizations) in activities that promote interest and success in agricultural-related education, practice, and resource management across the lifespan.Achieving these objectives will promote global competence in our nation's future agricultural workforce and align with the United Nations' worldwide goals of ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition, promoting sustainable agriculture, and ensuring availability and sustainable management of water.

Project Methods
Activities:Three summer travel-study experiences for UTM students working with the Maasai people in Narok Co., Kenya.The primary assessment for this course will require students to select a topic, conduct faculty supervised background research, and propose a "study" (broadly defined) to be conducted at the Kenya schools during the trip.Test and demonstration plots will be developed at Kenyan Schools, UT Martin, and two Weakley Co. Schools sites.A series of educational webinars will be conducted on sustainable, local food production involving Kenyan and U.S. students, faculty, and community members.Research on forage, fruit, vegetable, grain, and livestock productionResearch on food intake and nutrition among Kenyan K-12 students.Production of educational and informational videos on sustainable food productionAnalysis of data and communication of resultsTechniques:For fruit and vegetable and soil research, UTM faculty, students, and Innov8 staff will design a study to compare vertical growing methods for water conservation used in Kenya to in-ground growing.Fruit or vegetable crops suitable to both Kenyaand southeastern US (kale, arugula, green peppers, squash, tomatoes, and strawberries, for example) will be used in the experiment. Irrigation amounts, soil moisture, yield, and fertility will be measured in the vertical and in-ground growing systems in an attempt to determine the water efficiency of vertical growing methods compared to in-ground growing, the effect on plant growth and yield, and soil fertility over the growing season. Each study will be repeated during at least two different growing seasons.Forage research for this project will be conducted at the University of Tennessee at Martin and Kenya. The research will be conducted for two years following practices suitable to the local conditions. This research will evaluate a grass [Napier: NP (Pennisetum purpureumSchum)] and two legume [Sunn hemp: SH (Crotalaria juncea L.)] varieties for forage accumulation and nutritive value for their suitability for grazing as well as green chop feeding. Napier grass cuttings will be planted in hedgerows consisting of two rows of Napier stem cuttingsto form an alley. Sunn hemp will be drilled in the alley formed by the hedgerows of Napier. Periodic harvest regimen will follow.All samples will be dried to a constant weight, ground, and assessed for dry matter accumulation (combined and individual for NP and SH), nutritive value (Crude Protein: CP; Neutral Detergent Fiber: NDF; Acid Detergent Fiber: ADF, in vitro true digestibility: IVTD). These studies will be repeated at least 2x in different growing seasons.Following the initial year of forage studies, three 1-acre aisle grazing paddocks will be set up in a grazing rotation at UTM, the Weakley County Schools Livestock Facility at Dresden High School (Weakley Co. Schools, 2023), and one of the Narok County schools. The grazing paddock design will consist of a central area with sunn hemp and hedgerow strips of Napier grass with grass-only paddock as control. Three stocker age steers will be placed in each paddock and moved approximately weekly. Average daily gain (ADG) will be determined among the steers. Soil and forages samples will be taken as described above and analyzed for soil fertility and forage nutritive value, respectively. These studies will be repeated at least 2x in different growing years, and all data analyzed via traditional statistical methods as described above.UTM faculty and Innov8 staff will conduct a study of food intake and nutrition among Kenyan schoolchildren. We will record the types of fruit, vegetables, grains, and meats (if any) consumed at the schools and compile known information on their micronutrient and macronutrientcontent. Samples of students in grades through 6 from three schools in geographically/climatically different areas of Narok County will be obtained; teachers or Innov8 staff will administer surveys asking the type, frequency, and amount of food consumed for periods to be established at school and home; this data will be collected twice per year corresponding to dry and rainy seasons and used to establish average caloric and nutritional intake of the students at school while controlling for other (non-school) food intake. We will also measure students' body composition using non-invasive field anthropometric measurements ((height/weight/body mass index [BMI], waist circumference, skinfold measurements).Educational and outreach activities and material developed through this project will be reviewed by various faculty along with the external evaluator to ensure quality and relevance prior to implementation. Educational activities that occur in the Kenya and U.S. K-12 schools will be evaluated by a) cataloging all lessons/learning modules, class assignments, outreach activities and international exchange events that occur during the project; b) formative assessments (i.e. surveys) with teachers and relevant participants, and grant partners immediately following these activities to allow for real-time adjustments based on feedback; and c) summative assessments (i.e. standardized questionnaires) with students, conducted after each activity to determine knowledge gained, enjoyment, and perceived value of the activities. Teachers will be asked to complete the questionnaires as well as reflect on their and their students' experiences. For each activity completed, we will record the number and general demographic information (i.e. no individual identifiers) of student participants. We will also identify the number of teachers, UTM faculty, and other stakeholders involved.All data will be analyzed by the appropriate statistical methods based on each of the research designs described.