The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative aims to support research, education, and extension projects that address key problems of local, regional, national, and global importance in sustaining conventional, organic, urban, food and agricultural, and natural systems.
Donor Name: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/31/2025
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: 5 years
Details:
These include farm and ranch production efficiency, profitability, and sustainability; bioenergy and bio-based products; forestry; aquaculture; rural communities and entrepreneurship; human nutrition; mitigating impacts of biotic and abiotic constraints on food production; food safety; mitigating food loss and waste; physical and social sciences; rural human ecology; development of circular/regenerative economies, and genetic improvement of plants and animals. In addition, the economic sustainability of food systems is an overarching priority for the projects funded in response to this RFA; therefore, projects focusing on plant or animal species or commodities that are important to underserved communities, farmers, ranchers, or small- or medium-sized farms or ranches are also welcome. Through this support, AFRI advances knowledge in both fundamental and applied sciences important to agriculture. Additionally, AFRI supports work in education and extension activities that deliver science based knowledge to end users, allowing them to make informed, practical decisions.
The Foundational and Applied Science RFA program areas address the following priorities, as well as all included subpriorities:
- Plant Health and Production and Plant Products;
- Animal Health and Production and Animal Products;
- Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health;
- Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment;
- Agriculture Systems and Technology; and
- Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $300,000,000.
- Award Ceiling: $15,000,000
- Award Floor: $1,000
Grant Period
- 36-60 months for Standard Grants, Strengthening Standard Grants, Equipment and New Investigator Standard Grants
- Up to 24 months for all Seed Grants
- Up to 12 months for Sabbatical Grants
- Up to 60 months for Conference Grants.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility is linked to the project type as specified below.
- Research, Education or Extension Projects
- Eligible applicants for single-function Research, Education or Extension Projects include:
- 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 any group consisting of two or more entities identified in a) through h).
- Eligible applicants for single-function Research, Education or Extension Projects include:
- Integrated Projects
- Eligible applicants for Integrated Projects include:
- colleges and universities;
- 1994 Land-Grant Institutions; and
- Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges and universities.
- Eligible applicants for Integrated Projects include:
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
