Applicants are invited to apply for the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP).
Donor Name: University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR)
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/09/2024
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
The UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP) is a statewide program of University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR). UC SAREP envisions a food and farming system that:
- supports resilience through diversified production, marketing, and distribution systems,
- values all food system workers and supports their physical, economic, and social wellbeing,
- contributes to the health and vitality of urban, rural, and Tribal communities,
- is environmentally regenerative, using resources for production and distribution in a way that protects the environment in trust for future generations, including under changing climate conditions, and
- is culturally responsive and reflects the ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity of California.
Program Priority Areas
UC SAREP is interested in projects that build the capacity of farming and food systems businesses and organizations to become reflective, adaptive learning organizations that can respond effectively to ecological, economic, and social change and disruption.
UC SAREP will fund projects that fall within two priority areas:
- Priority Area 1: Support California’s farmers, ranchers, and land stewards of all scales in piloting and transitioning to:
- environmentally regenerative approaches to producing crops and livestock (including but not limited to soil health, organic and agroecological practices, integrated pest management, crop diversification);
- pathways for realizing economic return from ecologically-sound crop management practices and fair labor practices;
- marketing and distribution strategies that support diversified, decentralized, and locally based supply chains;
- strategies that promote producer-to-producer networking and/or producer-to-supply chain networking.
- Priority Area 2: Support California’s rural, urban, and Tribal communities in identifying and implementing strategies to:
- expand access to healthy, sustainably produced, culturally appropriate foods;
- ensure worker wellbeing across the food chain;
- minimize the community and environmental costs of food production and distribution;
- strengthen connections between consumers and producers;
- establish and strengthen producer-to-producer connections and producer-to-supply chain connections.
Proposal Categories
Proposals are requested for three types of projects:
- Category 1: Planning Grants
- Planning grants are intended to support processes that bring together diverse stakeholders to plan for larger, more complex research and outreach projects for which larger funds are being sought. Grantees may apply for up to $10,000.
- Examples of previously funded Planning projects include: the creation of a new food policy council; exploring how green jobs for women farmworkers can improve their working conditions and the well-being of their communities; building a research team and developing plans for conducting a life cycle analysis of California’s beef production system; and community food access planning in East Salinas.
- Category 2: Education and Outreach Grants
- Education and outreach grants include educational events, materials and outreach components of research projects. Grantees may apply for up to $10,000.
- Examples of previously funded Education and Outreach projects include: providing legal guidance to low-income entrepreneurs interested in urban and suburban farming, home-based food businesses and cooperatively owned agricultural companies in the San Francisco Bay Area; helping Southeast Asian and other small farmers in Sacramento connect with processors and buyers; implementing a bilingual educational campaign to communicate the importance of locally and sustainably grown produce from farmers of diverse backgrounds in Napa County; and developing and documenting opportunities and success stories for ecosystem services provided by rangeland stewardship.
- Category 3: Applied Research Grants
- These projects are intended to fund original, applied research in the above Program Priority Areas.
- An example of a previously funded research grant includes funding to study the effects of livestock guardian dogs on wildlife species and the potential for conflict with recreationists. Research projects should include an outreach component.
- Applied Research Grant I: Grantees may apply for up to $10,000.
- Applied Research Grant II: Grantees may apply for up to $20,000. Only one Applied Research Grant II will be awarded. The project must clearly demonstrate the need for funding at a higher level, such as a requirement for specific equipment or specialized expertise without which the project would not be feasible at all.
Funding Information
Individual grants will be limited to a maximum of $10,000, with one Applied Research Grant awarded up to $20,000. In the past two years, they have funded 25-40% of submitted proposals. Grants are cost-reimbursable on a quarterly basis. Invoices are required to be submitted for expenses incurred based on the approved budget.
Grant Period
Projects may begin as soon as May 1, 2024 and must be completed by April 30, 2025.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants include:
- farm or food system businesses operating in California
- non-profit, tax-exempt organizations operating in California
- state and local government agencies, tribal governments, and
- California public and private institutions of higher education.
For more information, visit UCANR.
