Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program

Deadline: 21-Apr-22

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is inviting applications for the Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program – Organic Transitions.

Priority Areas

Priority 1: Document and understand the effects of organic practices on soil health and fertility; greenhouse gas mitigation; enhanced biodiversity; and understanding of weeds, pests and diseases dynamics for better management to help mitigate the impacts of climate change, build resilience of the organic farming system, protect water and other resources, and provide other ecosystem services. These practices include, but are not limited to crop rotation; livestock feeding and management; livestock-crop system integration; organic manure, mulch, and/or compost additions; cover crops; and reduced or conservation tillage,
Priority 2: Develop improved technologies, methods, models, and metrics to document, describe, and optimize the ecosystem services and the climate variability adaptation and mitigation ability of organic crop, livestock, and integrated crop-livestock production systems.
Priority 3: Develop cultural practices and other allowable alternatives to substances recommended for removal from NOP’s National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. This may include effective substitutes or new technologies, cultural practices, cultivars, or breeds that render the NOP-cited substance in question less limiting to production under organic standards. Studies of alternatives should include evaluation of efficacy based on resulting productivity, profitability, and natural resources stewardship effects. They encourage a sustainable whole-systems approach but will also consider proposals that are narrower in scope.
Priority 4: Overcome barriers to organic transition. Projects under this priority should address major barriers that limit the transition to organic agriculture in a specific region, crop, or animal production system and develop practical information and tools for producer use. These can include, but are not limited to, production challenges during the transition period, local and regional infrastructure constraints, marketplace challenges, disruptive conditions like the COVID-19 pandemic, and administrative or policy barriers. Any constraint must be acknowledged by growers and other stakeholders. Proposals to improve organic animal or crop production management strategies and production systems should be submitted to the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI). Lobbying and advocacy activities are not allowed.

Funding Information

The anticipated amount available for ORG in FY2022 is approximately $6,650,000. This RFA is released prior to the passage of an appropriations act for FY 2022.
ORG anticipates funding standard Integrated Research, Education, and Extension projects with a project period of 2 to 4 years. The budgets that applicants provide may not exceed $300,000 per year with the total amount budgeted per award not to exceed $750,000. NIFA expects to make a total of approximately nine to ten awards in FY2022.