Established in 2013, the Global Center for Aquatic Health and Food Security (GCAHFS) at Mississippi State University aims to reduce world hunger through research that supports sustainable aquaculture and ecological health of aquatic resources. With more than 50 partners in 12 countries and a portfolio of over $40 million since 2013, GCAHFS has demonstrated expertise in addressing the health of aquatic environments by improving the impact of these important ecosystems on the quality of life of humans, increasing food production and security, implementing aquatic animal disease mitigation strategies, supporting aquaculture technology development and adoption, and promoting sustainable aquatic resource management.
GCAHFS specifically advanced innovation in the rapidly growing African aquaculture sector through the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The Fish Innovation Lab worked from 2018–2025 to reduce poverty and improve nutrition, food security, and livelihoods in partner countries by supporting research on sustainable aquatic food systems. It was one of the Feed the Future Innovation Labs which leveraged the expertise of U.S. universities and developing country research institutions to tackle some of the world’s greatest challenges in agriculture and food security.
Over the course of the program, the Fish Innovation Lab supported 30 research activities, 19 of which were in Africa: Ghana (1), Kenya (5), Nigeria (7), and Zambia (6). The lab also supported work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and a four-country study across Madagascar, the Pacific Islands, Peru, and the Philippines. Fish Innovation Lab activities in Africa addressed major issues in aquaculture and fisheries. In Nigeria, teams investigated different ways to improve aquaculture production and provide better quality fish products to consumers as well as how to assess fish supply from inland water bodies and potential impacts from climate change. In Kenya and Ghana, teams worked to improve the sustainability of local fisheries and provide nutrition training and information to promote consumption of aquatic foods for better nutrition amongst fishers, mothers, and children. They also analyzed fish health and antimicrobial resistance in aquaculture and started developing climate-smart solutions to integrate agriculture and aquaculture through aquaponic systems. Activities in Zambia captured a wide range of work, from fish vaccine development to reduce aquaculture losses to assessing population ecology and current distribution of introduced invasive crayfish. Additional work in Zambia developed a dried fish powder along with recipes for enhanced nutrition, particularly benefiting mothers and infants in vulnerable households.
To learn more about the activities of the Global Center for Aquatic Health and Food Security, visit our website at www.gcahfs.msstate.edu.