Food and Agriculture

Research and innovation to ensure the resilience of the world’s food systems

In a world that is becoming more populated, more developed, and more urbanized, food and agriculture systems in developing and developed countries alike face growing threats to their productivity, accessibility, and sustainability. Add the effects of climate change, and these threats to the world’s agriculture and food supplies are compounded. The gravity of these challenges to our global food system drives J-WAFS’ Institute-wide, solutions-oriented approach to research and innovation. To ensure safe and resilient food supplies now and into the future, J-WAFS catalyzes new research, leads transdisciplinary studies, supports commercialization efforts, and fuels cross-institutional collaborations. The results include policy and technology innovations, supply chain interventions, new food safety technologies, and many more.

Examples of our work in this area

Faculty Research Funding

Through research grants, commercialization grants, and business plan competitions, J-WAFS fuels MIT food systems research across multiple disciplines.

Student Research Funding and Prizes

Through funding opportunities, events, support for clubs and entrepreneurship, and mentorship, J-WAFS endeavors to expose students across the Institute to exciting research, networking, and professional opportunities in water and food.

Food and Climate Systems Transformation (FACT) Alliance

The FACT Alliance is a first-of-its-kind initiative, connecting researchers, the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), farming communities, and government to drive innovation and inform better decision-making for resilient and sustainable food systems.

Expert Research Workshop Studies

J-WAFS leverages MIT’s convening power to produce international-scale expert workshops and research studies that bring together some of the leading researchers and institutions to develop solutions.