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More than $160 million available in funding for food and ag research, education, and Extension Story Date: 2/23/2015
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Source: USDA, 2/20/15
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced the availability of more than $160 million in funding for research, education, and extension projects that address key challenges affecting U.S. agriculture production. NIFA will fund the awards through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI).
"The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative was created
to find innovative solutions to the challenges we face as a society, such as
hunger and food security, health, climate, food safety, and bioenergy,"
said Sonny Ramaswamy, NIFA director. "We are now in AFRI's sixth year,
and already the program has made strides in advancing agricultural science. I
am extremely proud of the work NIFA has funded thus far, and excited to see
what groundbreaking research, education, and extension projects will result
from this year's funding. These projects provide funding for the critical
research, training, and assistance that ultimately strengthens rural America
and our economy."
NIFA released six separate requests for applications (RFA)
through the AFRI program. Five RFAs will support AFRI's challenge areas: food
security, water, childhood obesity prevention, food safety, and climate. The
challenge areas fund integrated, applied science that seek to find solutions
to societal challenges that impact our ability to feed, clothe, and shelter a
rising global population. An additional RFA for the AFRI Foundational program
will addresses the six Farm Bill priority areas: 1) plant health and
production and plant products; 2) animal health and production and animal
products; 3) food safety, nutrition and health; 4) bioenergy, natural
resources and environment; 5) agriculture systems and technology; and 6)
agriculture economics and rural communities.
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Fiscal
Year 2015 AFRI RFAs include:
Foundational Program
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This program builds a foundation of
knowledge in fundamental and applied food and agricultural sciences that are
critical for solving current and future societal challenges. The program
funds work across all six Farm Bill priority areas.
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$116 million
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Water
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The Water challenge area focuses on
developing solutions for water management that link food, water, climate,
energy, and environmental issues. Funding will be used to develop management
practices, technologies, and tools for farmers, ranchers, forest owners, and
citizens to improve water resource quantity and quality.
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$9 million
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Food Safety
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The goal of this program is to further
develop and promote the use of innovative and sustainable food processing
technologies and better understand, characterize, and mitigate antimicrobial
resistance across the food chain, from farm-to-fork.
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$6 million
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Agricultural and Natural Resources Science
for Climate Variability and Change
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In fiscal year 2015, NIFA will accept
applications that support research to facilitate the adaptation of
agroecosystems and natural resource systems to climate variability and the
implementation of mitigation strategies in those systems. NIFA is soliciting
proposals in three program areas: 1) climate and microbial processes in
agroecosystems, 2) climate resilient land use for agriculture and forestry,
and 3) synthesis and assessment of NIFA's climate investments.
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$5 million
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Childhood Obesity Prevention
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Fiscal year 2015 funding is focused on
generating new knowledge of behavioral, social, and environmental factors
that influence childhood obesity. This knowledge should be used to develop
and implement effective interventions for preventing overweight and obesity
and promoting healthy behaviors in children and adolescents. The program
focuses on prevention of weight gain and does not fund projects to promote
weight loss.
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$6 million
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Food Security
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This program's goal is to develop more
sustainable, productive, and economically viable plant and animal production
systems. It will also develop regionally-adapted crop cultivars and livestock
breeds that contribute to rural economic development and prosperity while
enhancing food security.
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$16 million
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Application
deadlines vary by program area. See the request for application for
more details. NIFA released the AFRI Food Security Challenge Area RFA on
January 30, 2015 in a separate announcement.
The
purpose of AFRI 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.
AFRI is NIFA's flagship competitive grant program authorized under the 2014
Farm Bill and supports work in six priority areas: 1) plant health and
production and plant products; 2) animal health and production and animal
products; 3) food safety, nutrition and health; 4) bioenergy, natural resources
and environment; 5) agriculture systems and technology; and 6) agriculture
economics and rural communities.
The
2014 Farm Bill requires NIFA to establish Centers of Excellence for
food and agricultural research, education, and extension. Applicants who meet
the requirements of this funding opportunity are also eligible to apply for
Center of Excellence designation as part of their grant application, which
gives them priority consideration during the external peer review process.
Information on applying for this designation can be found in the RFA.
Through federal funding and leadership for
research, education and extension programs, NIFA focuses on investing in
science and solving critical issues impacting people's daily lives and the
nation's future. More information is at: www.nifa.usda.gov.
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