Overview of the Education and Training Grants
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture is looking for applications for education and training grants that focus on improving the various components of the pipeline for creating the workforce in food and agricultural sciences.
The grant duration is 12-24 months for design projects. Standard grants and their strengthening 36-48 months for implementation projects. Standard grants and their strengthening
The Purpose and Priorities of the Grant
AFRI’s mission is to finance research, teaching, and extension programs that address critical local, regional, national, and worldwide issues related to the sustainability of conventional, organic, urban food, agricultural, and natural systems.
These include farm and ranch production efficiency, profitability, and sustainability; bioenergy and bio-based products; forestry; aquaculture; rural communities and entrepreneurship; human nutrition; mitigating the effects of biotic and abiotic constraints on food production; food safety; reducing food waste and loss; physical and social sciences; rural human ecology; the development of circular/regenerative economies; and plant and animal genetic improvement.
Furthermore, the economic sustainability of food systems is a top priority for the projects funded in response to this Request for Applications (RFA); thus, projects focusing on plant or animal species or commodities important to underserved communities, farmers, ranchers, or small- or medium-sized farms or ranches are also encouraged.
AFRI’s sponsorship advances research in both basic and applied agricultural sciences. Each Program Area priority in this RFA may include all or some of these project types.
Food and agricultural systems face ever-increasing restrictions, such as growing populations, pressure on natural resources, climate unpredictability and change, and the complicated need to provide nutritional security and food safety in a global economy.
Addressing these difficulties involves a combination of research, education, extension, and integrated initiatives, as well as science-based techniques that improve agricultural and natural resource sustainability.
The term’ sustainable agriculture refers to a combined system of plant and animal production practices applicable to site-specific applications that will meet the following long-term objectives:
- Meet human diet and fibre requirements;
- Improve environmental quality and the natural resource basis on which the agriculture economy relies.
- Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources, and include, where suitable, natural biological cycles and controls;
- Maintain the economic viability of farm activities.
- Improve the quality of life for farmers and society in general.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants for AFRI must fulfil all of the standards outlined in this RFA. Failure to meet the eligibility conditions by the application deadline may result in exclusion from consideration or prevent the NIFA from issuing an award.
- Research, Education, or Extension Projects
- Eligible applications for single-function research, education, or extension projects are:
- State Agricultural Experiment Station.
- colleges and universities (including junior colleges that provide associate degrees or higher);
- University research foundations
- Other research institutes and organizations;
- Federal agencies.
- National labs.
- Private organizations or businesses
- Individuals who are United States citizens, nationals, or permanent residents;
- any group consisting of two or more things identified in a)–h).
- Foreign and international organizations are not considered eligible institutions.
Established Projects
Eligible applications for Integrated Projects are:
- Colleges and Universities
- 1994: Land-grant institutions; and
- Hispanic-serving agricultural institutions and universities
- Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement Grants
- This RFA solicits grants for the FASE program, including New Investigator, Strengthening Standard, Strengthening Conference, Seed, Equipment, and Sabbatical.
- Grant recipients may subcontract with organizations that are not eligible to apply as long as such entities are required for the project’s execution.
- Duplicate or Multiple Submissions – Duplicate or substantially overlapping applications are not permitted. If an applicant submits several duplicative or significantly overlapping applications to NIFA programs within the same fiscal year, both will be disqualified.
NOTE: the application deadline is 05-Dec-24, for further information, click here to visit Grants.gov.
