USDA: Seeking Applications for Agriculture and Food Research Initiative

Deadline: 14 September 2016

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), an agency of United States Department of Agriculture is seeking applications from organisations for Agriculture and Food Research Initiative – Agriculture and Natural Resources Science for Climate Variability and Change Challenge Area Program.

The aim of the program is to support research, education, and extension work by awarding grants that address key problems of national, regional, and multi-state importance in sustaining all components of food and agriculture, including farm efficiency and profitability, ranching, renewable energy, forestry (both urban and agro-forestry), aquaculture, rural communities and entrepreneurship, human nutrition, food safety, physical and social sciences, home economics and rural human ecology, biotechnology, conventional breeding, and including both conventional and organic food production systems.

The goal of this program is to produce a greater understanding of underlying processes, drivers and consequences of land use change, including bio-physical and biogeochemical processes, climate feedbacks, and environmental outcomes, and social, behavioral, economic and land use interactions.

Types of Grants and Funding Information

The amount available to support the AFRI program in FY 2016 will be approximately $350 million.

Climate and Land Use: Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP) Grants must not exceed $1 million per year (including indirect costs) for project periods of up to 4 years.
Climate Masters Outreach and Extension: Standard Grants must not exceed $250,000 per year (including indirect costs) for project periods of up to 1 year.

Eligibility Criteria

New application: This is a project application that has not been previously submitted to NIFA.
Renewal application: This is a project application that requests additional funding for a project beyond the period that was approved in an original or amended award.
Resubmitted application: This is an application that was submitted previously to NIFA but not funded.
State Agricultural Experiment Station;
Colleges and universities (including junior colleges offering associate degrees or higher);
University research foundations;
Other research institutions and organizations;
Federal agencies,
National laboratories;
Private organizations or corporations;
Individuals who are U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents; and
Eligible institutions do not include foreign and international organizations.