FY26-AFRI-FAS-NOFO-P-MOD6.pdf

REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS

Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program

Foundational and Applied Science Program

This RFA has been modified from the original announcement. Changes are indicated using track changes and red font so the public/potential applicants can identify the changes within the solicitation.

MODIFICATIONS: 8/24/26 — Modifications are specific to the AFRI Commodity Board Co-funding Topics (A1811) program area priority. The Nebraska Corn Development, Utilization, and Marketing Board’s topic 19 has been withdrawn. These edits appear on pages 96 and 97.

MODIFICATIONS: 8/18/26 — Modifications are specific to the AFRI Commodity Board Co-funding Topics (A1811) program area priority. American Egg Board topics 2, 3, 4, and 5 have been withdrawn. These edits appear on pages 92 and 93.

MODIFICATIONS: 7/30/26 — Modifications are specific to the following program area priorities: Rapid Response to Weather Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems (A1712), Rapid Response to Emerging and Re-emerging Pest and Disease Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems (A1713) and AFRI Commodity Board Co-funding Topics (A1811). These edits appear on pages 90-101 and 104.

MODIFICATIONS: 11/14/25 — The APPLICATION DEADLINE has been extended for various AFRI Program Area Priorities. Table 2 on page 5 provides a summary of all changes.

Individual edits appear on pages: 6, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 28, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 49, 52, 54, 56, 59, 60, 62, 65, 68, 70, 71, 74, 75, 77, 79, 81, 84, 90-101, and 104.

FUNDING YEAR: Fiscal Year (FY) 2026

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Varies by Program Area (see Part I § C)

ANTICIPATED FUNDING: $300,000,000

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NUMBER: USDA-NIFA-AFRI-011134

ASSISTANCE LISTING NUMBER: 10.310

LETTER OF INTENT DEADLINE: Varies by Program Area (see Part I § C)

ANNOUNCEMENT

National Institute of Food and Agriculture United States Department of Agriculture

Assistance Listing Number: The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Competitive Grants Program Foundational and Applied Science (FAS) is listed in the Assistance Listings under number 10.310.

Table 1: Key Dates and Deadlines Task Description Deadline

Application: 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time, on the 2026 deadline dates indicated in Part I § C

Letter of Intent: If applicable, 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time, on the LOI deadline dates indicated in Part I § C

Applicants Comments: Within six months from the issuance of this notice (NIFA may not consider comments received after the sixth month)

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), to the extent permitted by law, will no longer make grants or otherwise fund programs or activities that improperly discriminate on the basis of race or sex, including discrimination in the name of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies. Instead, USDA will prioritize merit and efficiency. USDA recognizes programs and initiatives will have the greatest impact when these programs and initiatives put American farmers, ranchers, and foresters first by:

• solving the most pressing challenges they face;

• protecting America’s food, fuel, and fiber supply to enhance national security;

• supporting production of healthy and safe food for consumers;

• expanding and developing domestic markets;

• training the next generation of agriculturalists; and

• fueling innovation to keep American farmers at the forefront of productivity.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is committed to advancing these principles and encourages applicants to actively engage farmers, ranchers, and foresters when applying for funding opportunities to ensure relevancy and adherence to them. NIFA also encourages agricultural leaders to engage in the peer review panel process to ensure American producers are better served through research, education, and extension activities.

Stakeholder Input. NIFA seeks comments on all Request for Applications (RFA) so it can deliver programs efficiently, effectively, with integrity, and with a focus on customer service.

NIFA considers comments to the extent possible when developing RFAs, and uses comments to help meet the requirements of Section 103(c)(2) of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7613(c)(2)). Applicants may submit written comments to Policy@usda.gov. Please use the following subject line: Response to the AFRI FAS RFA.

Centers of Excellence. Applicants are welcome to visit the NIFA’s Centers of Excellence (COE) for information on COE designation process, including COE criteria, and a list of https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:7%20section:7613%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title7-section7613)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true mailto:Policy@usda.gov https://nifa.usda.gov/centers-excellence https://nifa.usda.gov/centers-excellence programs offering COE opportunities. Recordings of COE outreach and COE implementation webinars are also available.

Commodity Board Co-Funding Topics. NIFA solicits proposed topics from eligible state and national commodity boards on an ongoing basis for the AFRI program. Topics must relate to the established AFRI six priority areas. Topics submitted by the commodity boards that align with NIFA priorities are chosen for inclusion in selected program areas of AFRI RFAs. Details on general information and topic submission resources for inclusion in future AFRI RFAs can be found at NIFA's Commodity Board Provision website.

Applicants are welcome to view AFRI Commodity Board Co-funding Topics (A1811) in Part I § C for additional details on commodity board-specific priorities and submission of applications relevant to these priorities.

https://nifa.usda.gov/resource/centers-excellence-prior-webinars https://nifa.usda.gov/program/agriculture-and-food-research-initiative-afri https://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This notice identifies the objectives for Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Foundational and Applied Science program projects, deadlines, funding information, eligibility criteria for projects and applicants, and application forms and associated instructions.

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. In this RFA, NIFA requests applications for the six AFRI priority areas through the FAS Program for FY 2026. 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. It is imperative to develop innovative, safe, and sustainable management strategies for livestock (including poultry and aquaculture species), crops, and critical underlying resources.

In 2026, applications are sought in the following 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 amount available for programs included in the FY 2026 AFRI FAS RFA is approximately $300,000,000. Funding from FY 2026 appropriations will be used for the programs solicited in this RFA. Funding from FY2025 appropriations was provided to applications submitted to the FY24 AFRI FAS RFA published December 15. 2023. The amount available to support the AFRI program is anticipated to be approximately $407,000,000, of which $300 million will be used to support AFRI FAS programs.

In FY 2026, this RFA solicits Standard Grants, Workshop Grants, and Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement (FASE) Grants, whereas project types solicited in this RFA are Research, Extension, Education, and Integrated Research, Education, and/or Extension projects. Grant types and project types solicited vary by program area priority and not all grant types are solicited within each program area priority. See Part I § C (Program Area Descriptions) for grant and project types solicited by each specific program area priority, and Part II § C for a description of each individual grant type and project type.

Applications from and collaborations with institutions eligible for Strengthening Grants are welcome. More information is available on the AFRI FASE and Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) page.

https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/programs/agriculture-food-research-initiative/afri-fase-epscor-program https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/programs/agriculture-food-research-initiative/afri-fase-epscor-program

Table 2: Program Area Priorities and Deadlines The deadlines under this RFA are summarized as follows:

Program Area1

Program Code

Program Area Priority Name 2026 Review Cycle Deadlines2

PHPPP A1102 1a. Foundational Knowledge of Agricultural Production Systems

December 4, 2025

PHPPP A1103 1b. Foundational Knowledge of Plant Products December 4, 2025 PHPPP A1112 1c. Pests and Beneficial Species in Agricultural

Production Systems December 18, 2025

PHPPP A1152 1d. Physiology of Agricultural Plants December 4, 2025 PHPPP A1141 1e. Plant Breeding for Agricultural Production December 4, 2025 PHPPP A1113 1f. Pollinator Health: Research and Application December 11, 2025 PHPPP A1143 1g. Conventional Plant Breeding for Cultivar

Development December 11, 2025

AHPAP A1211 2a. Animal Reproduction December 18, 2025 AHPAP A1231 2b. Animal Nutrition, Growth and Lactation December 18, 2025 AHPAP A1251 2c. Welfare of Agricultural Animals December 18, 2025 AHPAP A1221 2d. Diseases of Agricultural Animals December 18, 2025 AHPAP A1201 2e. Animal Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics December 18, 2025 FSNH A1332 3a. Food Safety and Defense December 4, 2025 FSNH A1364 3b. Innovations in Food Manufacturing Technologies December 4, 2025 FSNH A1344 3c. Diet, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Chronic

Diseases December 4, 2025

FSNH A1343 3d. Food and Human Health December 11, 2025 FSNH A1366 3e. Mitigating Antimicrobial Resistance Across the Food

Chain December 11, 2025

BNRE A1401 4a. Soil Health December 4, 2025 BNRE A1411 4b. Water Quantity and Quality December 4, 2025 BNRE A1414 4c. Bioeconomy and Biobased Products December 4, 2025 BNRE A1451 4d. Landscape-Scale Production Systems December 4, 2025 AST A1521 5a. Engineering for Agricultural Production and

Processing December 4, 2025

AST A1531 5b. Biorefining and Biomanufacturing December 4, 2025 AST A1511 5c. Nanotechnology for Agricultural and Food Systems December 11, 2025 AST A1551 5d. Engineering for Precision Crop and Water

Management December 4, 2025

AERC A1601 6a. Small and Medium-Sized Farms December 11, 2025 AERC A1641 6b. Economics, Markets and Trade December 4, 2025 AERC A1642 6c. Social Implications of Food and Agricultural

Technologies December 11, 2025

AERC A1661 6d. Rural Economic Development December 11, 2025 AERC A1651 6e. Environmental and Natural Resource Economics December 11, 2025

1 PHPPP=Plant Health and Production and Plant Products, AHPAP=Animal Health and Production and Animal Products;

FSNH=Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health; BNRE=Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment; AST=Agriculture Systems and Technology; AERC=Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities; Crosscutting=Crosscutting Program Area Priorities 2 All applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline date.

Program Area1

Program Code

Program Area Priority Name 2026 Review Cycle Deadlines2

Crosscutting A1402 7a. Agricultural Microbiomes in Plant Systems and Natural Resources

December 11, 2025

Crosscutting A1701 7b. Critical Agricultural Research and Extension (CARE) December 18, 2025 Crosscutting A1541 7c. Data Science for Food and Agricultural Systems

(DSFAS)

December18, 2025

Crosscutting A1181 7d. Agricultural Biosecurity December 18, 2025 Crosscutting A1713 7e. Rapid Response to Emerging and Re-emerging Pest and Disease Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems

Accepted on a continuous basis after this RFA is published

Crosscutting A1811 7f. AFRI Commodity Board Co-funding Topics September 10, 2026 Crosscutting A1712 7g. Rapid Response to Weather Events Across Food and

Agricultural Systems Accepted on a continuous basis after this RFA is published

1 PHPPP=Plant Health and Production and Plant Products, AHPAP=Animal Health and Production and Animal Products;

FSNH=Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health; BNRE=Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment; AST=Agriculture Systems and Technology; AERC=Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities; Crosscutting=Crosscutting Program Area Priorities 2 All applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline date.

FY 2026 UPDATES

1. This RFA covers the FY 2026 grant application review cycle for which funding from the FY

2026 budget will be used.

2. All applicants who meet the eligibility requirement as a New Investigator (see Part II § C), will also be eligible to apply for a seed grant, as well as for a New Investigator standard grant unless they were awarded a seed grant previously, in which case they are eligible to apply for a New Investigator standard grant but are no longer eligible to apply for a New Investigator seed grant. While all seed grant applications submitted to a program area priority will be evaluated together, seed grant applications from New Investigators will not compete for funding with applications from strengthening-eligible (see Part II § C) institutions. More information about seed grants is in the “AFRI Grant Types” PDF in the attachments list on the AFRI RFA Resources page.

3. Year-round Workshop grant applications are accepted after submission of the Letter of Intent; see Part I § C for more information on which programs accept Workshop grants. The LOI must be submitted at least 195 days before the start of the Workshop. The full Workshop Grant application must be submitted, at minimum, 150 days before the start of the Workshop.

4. A new cross-cutting program area priority in this RFA is “Rapid Response to Emerging and Re-emerging Pest and Disease Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems” (program code A1713)

5. NEW IN FY 2026 – A Mentoring Plan is now required for all AFRI grant applications (excluding Workshop grants, equipment grants and sabbatical grants) for projects that involve any type of education, training or mentoring of students or other individuals including high school students, undergraduate students, graduate students, professional degree students, postdoctoral scholars, other professionals or any other individual receiving any type of formal, or non-formal training on the proposed project. For additional important details, see the “FY 2026 Foundational and Applied Science (FAS) RFA Additional Information for Part IV, C” on the AFRI RFA Resources page.

https://nifa.usda.gov/resource/afri-request-applications-resources https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/programs/agriculture-food-research-initiative/afri-request-applications-resources

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

FY 2026 UPDATES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF KEY INFORMATION

PART I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Legislative Authority B. Purpose and Priorities C. Program Area Description

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

6. Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities

7. Crosscutting Programs

PART II. AWARD INFORMATION

A. Available Funding B. Application Restrictions C. Project and Grant Types D. Ethical Conduct of Funded Projects E. Partnership Opportunities

PART III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligibility Requirements B. Request for Determination of Status C. Cost Sharing or Matching D. Centers of Excellence

PART IV. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION

A. Letter of Intent B. Method of Application C. Content and Form of the Application D. Funding Restrictions

PART V. APPLICATION REVIEW REQUIREMENTS

A. NIFA’s Evaluation Process B. Evaluation Criteria C. Centers of Excellence D. Organizational Management Information E. Application Disposition

PART VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION

A. General B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements C. Expected Program Outputs and Reporting Requirements

PART VII. OTHER INFORMATION

A. Use of Funds and Changes in Budget B. Confidential Aspects of Applications and Awards C. Regulatory Information D. Language Access Services

APPENDIX I: AGENCY CONTACT

APPENDIX II: GLOSSARY OF TERMS

APPENDIX III: DEFINITIONS

APPENDIX IV: OTHER AFRI RESOURCES

TABLE OF KEY INFORMATION

Table 1: Key Dates and Deadlines Table 2: Program Area Priorities and Deadlines Table 3: Foundational Knowledge of Agricultural Production Systems Key Information Table 4: Foundational Knowledge of Plant Products Key Information Table 5: Pests and Beneficial Species in Agricultural Production Systems Key Information Table 6: Physiology of Agricultural Plants Key Information Table 7: Plant Breeding for Agricultural Production Key Information Table 8: Pollinator Health: Research and Applications Key Information Table 9: Conventional Plant Breeding for Cultivar Development Key Information Table 10: Animal Reproduction Key Information Table 11: Animal Nutrition, Growth and Lactation Key Information Table 12: Welfare of Agricultural Animals Key Information Table 13: Diseases of Agricultural Animals Key Information Table 14: Animal Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics Key Information Table 15: Food Safety and Defense Key Information Table 16: Innovations in Food Manufacturing Technologies Key Information Table 17: Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases Key Information Table 18: Food and Human Health Key Information Table 19: Mitigating Antimicrobial Resistance Across the Food Chain Key Information Table 20: Soil Health Key Information Table 21: Water Quantity and Quality Key Information Table 22: Bioeconomy and Biobased Products Key Information Table 23: Landscape-Scale Production Systems Key Information Table 24: Engineering for Agricultural Production and Processing Key Information Table 25: Biorefining and Biomanufacturing Key Information Table 26: Nanotechnology for Agricultural and Food Systems Key Information Table 27: Engineering for Precision Crop and Water Management Key Information Table 28: Small and Medium-Sized Farms Key Information Table 29: Economics, Markets and Trade Key Information Table 30: Social Implications of Food and Agricultural Technologies Key Information Table 31: Rural Economic Development Key Information Table 32: Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Key Information Table 33: Agricultural Microbiomes in Plant Systems and Natural Resources Key Information 77 Table 34: Critical Agricultural Research and Extension (CARE) Key Information Table 35: Data Science for Food and Agricultural Systems (DSFAS) Key Information Table 36: Agricultural Biosecurity Key Information Table 37: Rapid Response to Emerging and Re-emerging Pest and Disease Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems Key Information Table 38: AFRI Commodity Board Co-funding Topics Key Information Table 39: Rapid Response to Weather Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems Key Information

PART I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Legislative Authority Section 2(b) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act (hereafter referred to as the Act) (7 U.S.C. 3157), as amended, authorizes the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), a competitive grant program to provide funding for fundamental and applied research, education, and extension to address food and agricultural sciences in the following 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.

To the maximum extent practicable, NIFA, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics (REE), will make grants for high priority research, education, and extension, taking into consideration, when available, the determinations made by the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board (NAREEEAB) pursuant to the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C.

3157). The Secretary delegates the authority to the Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics in 7 CFR 2.21, and the Under Secretary delegates that authority to NIFA.

B. Purpose and Priorities The purpose of AFRI (listed in the Assistance Listings under number 10.310) is to support research, education, and extension projects that will help farmers, ranchers, foresters, and other agricultural producers address key problems of local, regional, and national importance in sustaining food and agricultural systems. These include farm and ranch production efficiency, profitability, and sustainability; bio-based products; forestry; aquaculture; rural communities and entrepreneurship; human nutrition; mitigating impacts of biotic and abiotic constraints on food production; food safety; physical and social sciences; rural human ecology; 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 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. This AFRI RFA provides funding for research-only, education-only, extension-only, and integrated research, education, and/or extension projects addressing six priorities identified in Part I § A.

Background AFRI is NIFA’s flagship competitive grants portfolio for food and agricultural sciences, and funding is offered through the Foundational and Applied Science, Sustainable Agricultural Systems, and Education and Workforce Development Requests for Applications for addressing critical societal issues.

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:7%20section:3157%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title7-section3157)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:7%20section:3157%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title7-section3157)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:7%20section:3157%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title7-section3157)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=fb71e0bdd8201139683f371c33f35d70&mc=true&node=se7.1.2_121&rgn=div8

The Foundational and Applied Science RFA program areas address the following priorities, as well as all included subpriorities:

A. Plant Health and Production and Plant Products;

B. Animal Health and Production and Animal Products;

C. Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health;

D. Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment;

E. Agriculture Systems and Technology; and F. Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities

For a program informational webinar please visit the NIFA calendar for dates, event registration, and link. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in any of the informational webinars listed, please contact the event host listed no later than 10 days prior to the event.

C. Program Area Description NIFA is soliciting applications under seven AFRI program areas. The program areas and their respective approximate available funding amounts include:

1. Plant health and production and plant products ($61 million)

2. Animal health and production and animal products ($56 million)

3. Food safety, nutrition, and health ($38 million)

4. Bioenergy, natural resources, and environment ($33 million)

5. Agriculture systems and technology ($36 million)

6. Agriculture economics and rural communities ($30 million)

7. Crosscutting programs ($46 million)

Funding amounts indicated for program areas above include funding that may be allocated to interagency programs for which AFRI engages with other Federal funding agencies and for which applications are solicited through other Funding Opportunity Announcements.

1. Plant Health and Production and Plant Products

Background Monumental gains in American crop productivity over the past 60 years are the result of innovations in agricultural production practices, plant breeding, and pest management. The goal of the Plant Health and Production and Plant Products (PHPPP) program area is to ensure continued production gains are achieved via break-through discoveries and the translation of these into improved plant production and protection practices. The outcomes of these projects are expected to increase production efficiencies and combat persistent threats and new challenges that limit the achievement of dependable yields.

Plant agriculture is changing with the introduction of new engineering, technology, and information tools. Further improvements to plant agriculture will require a greater understanding of complex, inter-related factors, across a wide range of scales. These include investigations of plant and pest biology at the molecular, cellular, whole-organism, and systems levels to increase performance and provide protection from biotic and abiotic stressors. New traits are being discovered and varieties developed using gene editing and other advanced breeding methods.

Optimal integration of production system components is sought to ensure practices and products are safe for consumers and achieved with good stewardship of natural resources and efficient use https://nifa.usda.gov/calendar of human capital. By supporting extension programming, and training the next generation of scientists, new technologies will be made readily available to end-users and put into practice.

This strategy will ensure that the United States continues to be a leader in the agricultural sciences and a reliable source for the expanding domestic demand for an abundant and secure supply of food, feed, natural fibers, wood, and other plant-based products.

In addition to the program area priorities described in this section, the PHPPP program area also supports the following program area priorities:

• Agricultural Microbiomes in Plant Systems and Natural Resources (A1402), Agricultural

Biosecurity (A1181), and Critical Agriculture Research and Extension (A1701) program area priorities described in Crosscutting Programs.

• Plant Biotic Interactions will be offered through an interagency program with National Science Foundation (NSF); the NIFA program email is A1171@usda.gov. For NSF Dear Colleague Letter, see Dear Colleague Letter: Advancing Plant Transformation (nsf23019) | NSF - National Science Foundation.

Total Program Funds: Approximately $61 million

Key Information (Applicable to All Plant Health and Production and Plant Products Program Area Priorities):

a. All applications must adhere to the requirements in Part IV.

b. Choice of plant species (including crops, trees, and weeds) and objectives must be justified in terms of importance to agricultural food, feed, fiber, ornamental plants (including turf), planted forest, or industrial crop production systems in the United States.

c. Projects focusing on plant species and commodities that are important to small- or medium-sized farms are welcome.

d. Applications that include collaborations with international partners may also be submitted. The AFRI International Partnerships webpage contains additional information on international partnerships.

e. Applications with highly complex, large scale, transdisciplinary, and integrated research, education, and extension projects that incorporate foundational knowledge from this program area should be submitted to the AFRI Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) program (A9201). Please check the NIFA website for when the AFRI SAS RFA will be available.

f. An applicant may submit a Workshop Grant application anytime during the year. A Letter of Intent (LOI) is required for Workshop Grant applications. The LOI must be submitted at least 195 days before the start of the Workshop. The full Workshop Grant application must be submitted, at minimum, 150 days before the start of the Workshop.

Program Area Priorities – Each application must address at least one of the seven program area priorities listed below. Details about each of the PHPPP program area priorities are provided later in this section.

1a. Foundational Knowledge of Agricultural Production Systems 1b. Foundational Knowledge of Plant Products 1c. Pests and Beneficial Species in Agricultural Production Systems 1d. Physiology of Agricultural Plants 1e. Plant Breeding for Agricultural Production https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505267 mailto:A1171@usda.gov https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/dcl-advancing-plant-transformation https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/dcl-advancing-plant-transformation https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/programs/agriculture-food-research-initiative/faq/international https://nifa.usda.gov/program/afri-sas https://nifa.usda.gov/program/afri-sas https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities/agriculture-food-research-initiative-sustainable-agricultural-systems

1f. Pollinator Health: Research and Application 1g. Conventional Plant Breeding for Cultivar Development

1a. Foundational Knowledge of Agricultural Production Systems Table 3: Foundational Knowledge of Agricultural Production Systems Key Information

Title Description Program Code: A1102 Program Code

Name:

Foundational Knowledge of Agricultural Production Systems

Assistance Listing # 10.310 Project Type(s): Research and Integrated Projects only

Grant Type(s): a. Standard, Workshop, and FASE (Strengthening Standard, New Investigator, Strengthening Workshop, Seed, Equipment, and Sabbatical) Grants only

b. See Part II § C.2 for requirements specific to Workshop and FASE Grant applications.

Letter of Intent Deadline

a. Required only for Workshop Grant applications. The LOI must be submitted a minimum of 195 days before the Workshop begins.

b. LOIs must follow the instructions in Part IV, A and be emailed to the contact below.

Application Deadline(s)

a. 2026: Thursday, October 2December 4, 2025 (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

b. Workshop Grants: Submitted after LOI decision response and a minimum of 150 days before the Workshop begins

Grant Duration: a. 36-60 months for Standard Grants, Strengthening Standard Grants, Equipment and New Investigator Standard Grants

b. Up to 24 months for all Seed Grants

c. Up to 12 months for Sabbatical Grants

d. Up to 60 months for Workshop Grants

Maximum Award Amount(s):

a. Including indirect costs: $650,000 for Research Projects

b. Including indirect costs: $750,000 for Integrated Projects

c. Including indirect costs: $300,000 for all Seed Grants

d. $50,000 for Workshop and Equipment Grants

Program Area Priority Contact:

a. A1102@usda.gov

Program Area Priority:

The Foundational Knowledge of Agricultural Production Systems program area supports plant research to advance our knowledge for the wide range of agricultural production systems found across the rural-urban continuum, from conventional or organic open-fields to protected built environments. Research should address critical or process-limiting dynamics that occur among and within the various management components of a production system using experimental manipulations of system components, technological interventions, system analyses, or modeling.

Results are expected to lead to the development of innovative sustainable solutions to challenges limiting or threatening the productivity, profitability, and human capital.

Applications must address one or more of the following (order does not indicate importance):

a. Determine how production systems, can alter the structure of microbial communities associated with plants, soils, or other growing media; the ways alterations affect functions such as plant nutrient uptake/utilization efficiency; and resilience to weeds, insects, diseases, weather events, and other stressors that influence productivity and/or product quality (including nutritional quality);

b. Investigate how changes to cropping systems, including diversification or intensification, affect crop performance, soil health, and other outcomes beneficial to cropping systems;

or

c. Conduct syntheses and meta-analyses of existing data or develop new or extend existing models to derive general principles about the function, properties, and performance of agricultural production systems.

Additional Information:

a. Requests exceeding budgetary guidelines will not be reviewed.

b. Unless otherwise stated, grants are not renewable.

c. Projects focusing on species and commodities that are important to small- or medium-sized farms are welcome.

d. Projects supported by Foundational Knowledge of Agricultural Production Systems program area priority can serve as building blocks needed for large inter- and trans-disciplinary projects funded by the AFRI Sustainable Agricultural Systems program.

e. Appropriate plant production systems for study include food, feed, fiber, ornamental plants (including turf), industrial crops; harvested forages; pastures; seaweeds; and planted forests. Conventional, organic, and protected systems (including hydroponics, aquaponics, aeroponics, vertical farming, and other controlled environment production systems) are appropriate for study.

f. The production system studied could include key management components such as:

integrated crop management, soil or other growing media fertility, soil health, agronomic practices, cover cropping, biodiversification, economics, integrated management of target pests (including arthropods, nematodes, pathogens, and weeds), automation, and worker well-being and safety.

g. Development of innovative production systems to optimize the production of high-valued plant products are welcome. Plant products may include but are not limited to oil, fiber, nutra- and pharmaceuticals, nutrients, juices, fragrances, resins, and biopesticides.

h. Applicants must ensure applications are submitted to the right program or program area priority, for instance:

1) Applications to study management of pests or beneficial species may be more appropriate for the Pests and Beneficial Species in Agricultural Production Systems program area priority (A1112).

2) Applications to study microbiome function may be more appropriate for the Agricultural Microbiomes in Plant Systems and Natural Resources program area priority (A1402 in Crosscutting Programs).

3) Applications to study aquatic animals in aquaponics systems may be more appropriate for the Small and Medium-Sized Farms program area priority (A1601) or the Economics, Markets and Trade program area priority (A1641) described in the Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities program area of this RFA.

i. The Foundational Knowledge of Agricultural Production Systems program does not support projects focused on livestock. Please refer to the Animal Health and Production and Animal Products program area, described elsewhere in this RFA.

j. Applications focusing on integrated crop/livestock systems, rangelands, and forest management may be more appropriate for Landscape-scale Production Systems (A1451).

k. Starting in 2027, priority c (Syntheses and meta data analyses) will not be offered.

Applicants should consider submitting to the crosscutting program A1541 “Data Science for Food and Agricultural Systems”.

1b. Foundational Knowledge of Plant Products Table 4: Foundational Knowledge of Plant Products Key Information

Title Description Program Code: A1103 Program Code

Name:

Foundational Knowledge of Plant Products

Assistance Listing # 10.310 Project Type(s): Research Projects only

Grant Type(s): a. Standard, Workshop, and FASE (Strengthening Standard, New Investigator, Strengthening Workshop, Seed, Equipment, and Sabbatical) Grants only

b. See Part II § C.2 for requirements specific to Workshop and FASE Grant applications.

Letter of Intent Deadline

a. Required only for Workshop Grant applications. The LOI must be submitted a minimum of 195 days before the Workshop begins.

b. LOIs must follow the instructions in Part IV, A and be emailed to the contact below.

Application Deadline(s)

a. 2026: Thursday, October 16December 4, 2025 (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

b. Workshop Grants: submitted after LOI decision response and a minimum of 150 days before the Workshop begins

Grant Duration: a. 36-48 months for Standard Grants, Strengthening Standard Grants, Equipment and New Investigator Standard Grants

a. Up to 24 months for all Seed Grants

b. Up to 12 months for Sabbatical Grants

c. Up to 60 months for Workshop Grants

Maximum Award Amount(s):

a. Including indirect costs: $650,000 for Standard Grants, Strengthening Standard Grants, and New Investigator Standard Grants; $800,000 with specific partnerships (see Part II § E)

b. Including indirect costs: $300,000 for all Seed Grants

c. $50,000 for Workshop and Equipment Grants

Program Area

a. A1103@usda.gov

The Foundational Knowledge of Plant Products program supports projects to study the mailto:A1103@usda.gov biosynthesis of plant-derived, high-value biomolecules for use in foods, pharmaceuticals, and other products. Projects must focus on agriculturally-important plants, but the choice of plant species must be justified. Molecular, biochemical, synthetic biology, or eco-physiological approaches may be used to determine the biosynthetic pathways for industrially-important biomolecules. The intent of this program is for results to be translated into discoveries that help create or meet emerging and future markets and contribute towards long-term demand for agricultural-based products.

Applications must address one or more of the following (order does not indicate importance):

a. Primary and/or secondary metabolic pathways regulating the biosynthesis of plant metabolites that improve the quality of food and/or feed;

b. Biosynthetic pathways of metabolites with herbicidal or pesticidal activities;

c. Improving the production (biosynthesis) of plant-based chemicals that have industrial and/or pharmaceutical relevance; or

d. Macronutrient and/or micronutrient biosynthesis, accumulation, and/or availability that are beneficial to human health and nutrition.

Additional Information:

a. Requests exceeding budgetary guidelines will not be reviewed.

b. Unless otherwise stated, grants are not renewable.

c. Projects focusing on species and commodities that are important to small- or medium-sized farms are welcome.

d. Applications that address topics related to medicinal studies or human health are not appropriate for this program area priority.

e. Applications that address plant physiology may be more appropriate for Physiology of

Agricultural Plants (A1152).

1c. Pests and Beneficial Species in Agricultural Production Systems Table 5: Pests and Beneficial Species in Agricultural Production Systems Key Information

Title Description Program Code: A1112 Program Code

Name:

Pests and Beneficial Species in Agricultural Production Systems

Assistance Listing # 10.310 Project Type(s): Research and Integrated Projects (Research and Extension) only

Grant Type(s): a. Standard, Workshop, and FASE (Strengthening Standard, New Investigator, Strengthening Workshop, Seed, Equipment, and Sabbatical) Grants only

b. See Part II § C.2 for requirements specific to workshop and FASE Grant applications.

Letter of Intent Deadline

a. Required only for Workshop Grant applications. The LOI must be submitted a minimum of 195 days before the Workshop begins.

b. LOIs must follow the instructions in Part IV, A and be emailed to the contact below.

Title Description Application Deadline(s)

a. 2026: Thursday, November 6December 18, 2025 (5:00 p.m.

Eastern Time)

b. Workshop Grants: submitted after LOI decision response and a minimum of 150 days before the Workshop begins

Grant Duration: a. 36-60 months for Standard Grants, Strengthening Standard Grants, Equipment and New Investigator Standard Grants

b. Up to 24 months for all Seed Grants

c. Up to 12 months for Sabbatical Grants

d. Up to 60 months for Workshop Grants

Maximum Award Amount(s):

Including indirect costs:

a. $750,000 for Standard Grants, Strengthening Standard Grants, and

New Investigator Standard Grants; $900,000 with specific partnerships (see Part II § E)

b. Including indirect costs: $300,000 for all Seed Grants

c. $50,000 for Workshop and Equipment Grants

Program Area

a. A1112@usda.gov

This program area priority supports basic and applied research that advances knowledge of invasive or established plant pests and associated beneficial species and directly leading to the development of innovative and biologically-based applied solutions to managing pests in U.S.

agricultural systems. Appropriate plant agricultural production study systems include food and fiber crops, ornamental plants (including turf), managed grasslands, rangelands, and planted forests. Conventional, organic, and protected systems (including hydroponics, aquaponics, aeroponics, vertical farming, etc.) are appropriate. Pests may include invertebrates, plant pathogens or their vectors, nematodes and weeds. Beneficial species in this program are restricted to biological control agents and microbes that play a role in pest management.

Molecular, organismal, population, and/or community approaches are appropriate to this program. Foundational projects must exhibit a clear link to U.S. agriculture and clearly illustrate how new knowledge generated will directly lead to, novel or improved bio-based, applied tools and approaches to managing plant pests.

Applications must address one or more of the following in the context of enabling the development and evaluation of innovative practices to improve the management of plant pests (order does not indicate importance):

a. Biotic and abiotic factors, affecting the abundance or spread of agriculturally-important plant pests or beneficial species relevant to pest management; including other plant pests or beneficial species, plant compounds, pesticides, or toxins;

b. Behavioral attributes of pests and beneficial species, including intra- or interspecies interactions and/or communication systems, relevant to pest management;

c. Factors that contribute to invasiveness, including population genetics/genomic approaches or models to predict, prevent or manage outbreaks, or to pinpoint geographic distribution or origin;

mailto:A1112@usda.gov

d. Movement or dispersal dynamics of pests (including vectors) or beneficial organisms;

including epidemiological factors that influence disease spread, the influence of agronomic practices on weed populations, and research on aspects of weed biology that impact reproductive biology, seed bank dynamics, and other population-level aspects; or

e. Mechanisms of pest resistance to pesticides (fungicides, herbicides, insecticides) or plant incorporated protectants (e.g., Bt toxin) and the development of strategies to mitigate resistance or crop failure.

b. Unless otherwise stated, grants are not renewable.

c. Projects focusing on species and commodities that are important to small- or medium-sized farms are welcome.

d. Applicants must ensure applications are submitted to the right program or program area priority, for instance:

1) Applications that address topics related to pollinators are not appropriate for this program area priority; consider submitting to the Pollinator Health: Research and Application (A1113).

2) Studies involving molecular mechanisms that mediate interactions of plants with their biotic partners may be appropriate for the NSF-NIFA Plant Biotic Interactions program.

3) Applications to study microbiome function may be more appropriate for the Agricultural Microbiomes in Plant Systems and Natural Resources program area priority (A1402 in Crosscutting Programs).

e. Applications to study pests of livestock or humans (e.g., vectors of human diseases or nuisance pests such as flies, bed bugs, cockroaches, and termites) are not appropriate for this program area priority. Instead, consider submitting to the Animal Health and Production and Animal Products program area if you are studying pests of livestock, or to the Crop Protection and Pest Management RFA if your work is focused on nuisance pests in urban or rural systems.

f. Applications for work on big data analytics and tool development to support the development of a data network and cyberinfrastructure for pests and beneficial species should be submitted to the Data Science for Food and Agriculture Systems (DSFAS) program area priority (A1541 in Crosscutting Programs).

g. Projects associated with the initiative to sequence 5,000 arthropod genomes (i5K) are recommended to link with the National Agricultural Library’s i5k workspace.

h. NIFA is partnering with Ireland and Northern Ireland under the U.S.-Ireland Research and Development Partnership to solicit collaborative research applications in the Pests and Beneficial Species in Agricultural Production Systems program area priority. For more information including FAQs about this opportunity, visit the NIFA, Ireland, and Northern Ireland partnership page. Applicants submitting to this partnership must select “other” in the AFRI Project Type form and type in “Collaborative” and their application title should begin as “TRIPARTITE: [full title]”. Note: Research applications submitted for U.S.-Ireland Tripartite Collaborative grants are ineligible for U.S.

funding above the research program maximum of $750,000.

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505267 https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/crop-protection-and-pest-management https://i5k.nal.usda.gov/ https://nifa.usda.gov/food-and-agriculture-research-initiative-ireland-and-northern-ireland

1d. Physiology of Agricultural Plants Table 6: Physiology of Agricultural Plants Key Information

Title Description Program Code: A1152 Program Code

Name:

Physiology of Agricultural Plants

Assistance Listing # 10.310 Project Type(s): Research Projects only

Grant Type(s): a. Standard, Workshop, and FASE (Strengthening Standard, New Investigator, Strengthening Workshop, Seed, Equipment, and Sabbatical) Grants only

b. See Part II § C.2 for requirements specific to Workshop and FASE Grant applications.

Letter of Intent Deadline

a. Required only for Workshop Grant applications. The LOI must be submitted a minimum of 195 days before the Workshop begins.

b. LOIs must follow the instructions in Part IV, A and be emailed to the contact below.

Application Deadline(s)

a. 2026: Thursday, October 23December 4, 2025 (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

b. Workshop Grants: submitted after LOI decision response and a minimum of 150 days before the Workshop begins

Grant Duration: a. 36-60 months for Standard Grants, Strengthening Standard Grants, Equipment and New Investigator Grants

b. Up to 24 months for all Seed Grants

c. Up to 12 months for Sabbatical Grants

d. Up to 60 months for Workshop Grants

Maximum Award Amount(s):

a. Including indirect costs: $650,000 for Standard Grants, Strengthening Standard Grants, and New Investigator Standard Grants; $800,000 with specific partnerships (see Part II § E)

b. Including indirect costs: $300,000 for all Seed Grants

c. $50,000 for Workshop and Equipment Grants

Program Area

a. A1152@usda.gov

The Physiology of Agricultural Plants program will support projects to improve productivity or other performance factors of agriculturally-important plants (including weeds) using molecular, biochemical, whole-plant, agronomic, or eco-physiological approaches. The genetic basis of important traits identified through these studies are expected to inform breeding efforts towards improved yield or product quality, or growth resilience to adverse conditions.

This program area priority will support research in the following areas:

a. Plant growth and developmental processes, including plant architecture and source-sink relationships;

b. Mechanisms of plant response to abiotic stresses, including increased water use mailto:A1152@usda.gov efficiency; or

c. Nutrient uptake, assimilation, and/or utilization, particularly increased plant use efficiency for nitrogen, phosphorus, or other supplemental nutrients.

Additional Information:

a. Requests exceeding budgetary guidelines will not be reviewed.

b. Unless otherwise stated, grants are not renewable.

c. Projects focusing on species and commodities that are important to small- or medium-sized farms are welcome.

d. Relevance to agriculturally-important traits should be clearly justified and specific.

e. For studies that involve microbes in plant nutrient utilization or abiotic stress tolerance, consider the Agricultural Microbiomes program area priority (in Crosscutting Programs) or the NSF-NIFA Plant Biotic Interactions program to determine the best fit for the project.

1e. Plant Breeding for Agricultural Production Table 7: Plant Breeding for Agricultural Production Key Information

Title Description Program Code: A1141 Program Code

Name:

Plant Breeding for Agricultural Production

Assistance Listing # 10.310 Project Type(s): Research and Integrated Projects only

Grant Type(s): a. Standard, Workshop, and FASE (Strengthening Standard, New Investigator, Strengthening Workshop, Seed, Equipment, and Sabbatical) Grants only for Plant Breeding Projects

b. See Part II § C.2 for requirements specific to Workshop and FASE Grant applications.

Letter of Intent Deadline

a. Required only for Workshop Grant applications. The LOI must be submitted a minimum of 195 days before the Workshop begins.

b. LOIs must follow the instructions in Part IV, A and be emailed to the contact below.

Application Deadline(s)

a. 2026: Thursday,…