Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Foundational and Applied Science Program

Background
The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) is America’s flagship competitive grants program that provides funding for fundamental and applied research, education, and extension projects in the food and agricultural sciences. The AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program supports grants in six priority areas to advance knowledge in both fundamental and applied sciences important to agriculture. The goal of this program is to invest in agricultural production research, education, and extension projects for more sustainable, productive, and economically viable plant and animal production systems.

Grant Details
The AFRI Foundational and Applied Science RFA solicits Standard Grants, Conference Grants, Coordinated Agricultural Project Grants, and Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement (FASE) Grants. The program seeks applications in the following priority areas:
- 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;
- Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities. The total anticipated amount available for new grants for the 2022 deadlines in this Foundational and Applied Science RFA is approximately $300 million.

Eligibility Requirements
NIFA encourages individuals, institutions, and organizations from underserved communities to apply to funding opportunities as lead, co-lead, or subaward recipient(s), as well as to engage as leaders in the peer panel review process. Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with international partners. Applications from minority-serving institutions, small to mid-sized institutions, or institutions within the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) states are also encouraged.

Period of Performance
The application deadline varies by Program Area with a deadline of September 15, 2022 for some areas. The grant duration ranges from 12 to 60 months depending on the grant type.

Grant Value
$300 million is the anticipated amount available for new grants for the 2022 deadlines in this Foundational and Applied Science RFA.

Place of Performance
Projects will be performed across a wide range of agricultural production systems found across the rural-urban continuum in the United States.