FY25-AFRI-FAS-RFA-P.pdf

REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS

Agriculture and Food Research Initiative

Competitive Grants Program Foundational and Applied Science Program

FUNDING YEAR: Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-2026

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)

INITIAL 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 RFA 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 2025 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)

Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA). The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recognizes research, education, and extension efforts will have the greatest impacts when programs are grounded in DEIA. NIFA is committed to enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility of programs and encourages individuals, institutions, and organizations from underserved communities to apply to funding opportunities as lead, co-lead, or subaward recipient(s), and to engage as leaders in the peer panel review process to support the development of strong networks and collaborations. NIFA encourages applications that engage diverse communities and have broad impacts through research, education, extension, and integrated activities to address current and future challenges.

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 Foundational and Applied Science 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 programs offering COE opportunities. Recordings of COE outreach and COE implementation webinars are also available.

Commodity Board Co-Funding Topics. NIFA solicits proposed topics for Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) RFAs from eligible state and national commodity boards on an ongoing basis. 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.

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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.

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 Foundational and Applied Science Program for 2025. 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. The global agricultural output needs to be expanded significantly to meet the food needs of the population expected in 2050; thus, it is imperative to develop innovative, safe, and sustainable management strategies for livestock (including poultry and aquaculture species), crops, and critical underlying resources.

Applications that address climate change, food and nutrition security, expanding markets for producers, traditional ecological knowledge, and equity for underserved producers are welcome.

Also welcome are applications that incorporate virtual learning options, where appropriate and practical for integrated programs.

In 2025, 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

This RFA is being released prior to the passage of a full appropriations act for FY 2025.

Enactment of a continuing resolution, appropriations act, or other authorizing legislation may affect the availability or level of funding for this program.

The amount available for programs included in the FY 2025 AFRI Foundational and Applied Science (FAS) RFA is approximately $300,000,000. Funding from FY 2026 appropriations will be used for the programs solicited in this RFA. 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 FY2025, this RFA solicits Standard Grants, Conference 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.

New in 2025:

A mentoring plan is now required for all AFRI grant applications (excluding conference grants, equipment grants and sabbatical grants) for any project that involves 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 or vocational training on the project. For additional important details, see the “FY 2025-2026 Foundational and Applied Science (FAS) RFA Additional Information for Part IV, C” on the AFRI RFA Resources webpage.

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

Program Area1

Program Code

Program Area Priority Name 2025 Review Cycle Deadlines2

PHPPP A1102 1a. Foundational Knowledge of Agricultural Production Systems

September 11, 2025

PHPPP A1103 1b. Foundational Knowledge of Plant Products August 7, 2025 PHPPP A1112 1c. Pests and Beneficial Species in Agricultural

Production Systems September 18, 2025

PHPPP A1152 1d. Physiology of Agricultural Plants August 14, 2025 PHPPP A1141 1e. Plant Breeding for Agricultural Production September 4, 2025 PHPPP A1113 1f. Pollinator Health: Research and Application August 21, 2025 PHPPP A1143 1g. Conventional Plant Breeding for Cultivar

Development August 28, 2025

AHPAP A1211 2a. Animal Reproduction August 7, 2025 AHPAP A1231 2b. Animal Nutrition, Growth and Lactation August 7, 2025 AHPAP A1251 2c. Welfare of Agricultural Animals August 7, 2025 AHPAP A1221 2d. Diseases of Agricultural Animals August 7, 2025 AHPAP A1201 2e. Animal Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics August 7, 2025 FSNH A1332 3a. Food Safety and Defense August 21, 2025 FSNH A1364 3b. Novel Foods and Innovative Manufacturing

Technologies September 11, 2025

FSNH A1344 3c. Diet, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases

August 7, 2025

FSNH A1343 3d. Food and Human Health August 7, 2025 FSNH A1366 3e. Mitigating Antimicrobial Resistance Across the Food

Chain September 18, 2025

BNRE A1401 4a. Soil Health September 11, 2025 BNRE A1411 4b. Water Quantity and Quality September 4, 2025 BNRE A1414 4c. Sustainable Bioeconomy through Biobased Products September 4, 2025 BNRE A1451 4d. Sustainable Agroecosystems September 11, 2025 BNRE A1461 4e. Environmental Justice for Agriculture and Nutrition

Security September 18, 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 Programs 2 All applications must be received by 5 p.m. EST on the deadline date.

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

Program Area1

Program Code

Program Area Priority Name 2025 Review Cycle Deadlines2

AST A1521 5a. Engineering for Agricultural Production and Processing

October 2, 2025

AST A1531 5b. Biorefining and Biomanufacturing October 9, 2025 AST A1511 5c. Nanotechnology for Agricultural and Food Systems August 21, 2025 AST A1551 5d. Engineering for Precision Crop and Water

Management October 9, 2025

AERC A1601 6a. Small and Medium-Sized Farms September 4, 2025 AERC A1641 6b. Economics, Markets and Trade October 2, 2025 AERC A1642 6c. Social Implications of Food and Agricultural

Technologies October 30, 2025

AERC A1661 6d. Rural Economic Development September 11, 2025 AERC A1651 6e. Environmental and Natural Resource Economics September 11, 2025 Crosscutting A1402 7a. Agricultural Microbiomes in Plant Systems and

Natural Resources October 2, 2025

Crosscutting A1701 7b. Critical Agricultural Research and Extension (CARE) September 11, 2025 Crosscutting A1541 7c. Data Science for Food and Agricultural Systems

(DSFAS)

November 13, 2025

Crosscutting A1261 7d. Inter-Disciplinary Engagement in Animal Systems

(IDEAS)

October 2, 2025

Crosscutting A1181 7e. Agricultural Biosecurity September 18, 2025 Crosscutting A1721 7f. Regional Partnerships for Extension & Education September 4, 2025 Crosscutting A1811 7g. AFRI Commodity Board Co-funding Topics TBA Crosscutting A1712 7h. Rapid Response to Extreme Weather Events Across

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

Crosscutting A1741 7i. Reducing Food Loss and Waste across the Supply Chain

July 17, 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 Programs 2 All applications must be received by 5 p.m. EST on the deadline date.

2025 UPDATES

1. This RFA covers the FY 2025 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. 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 conference grant applications are accepted after submission of the Letter of

Intent, see Part I § C for more information on which programs accept conference grants. The LOI must be submitted at least 195 days before the start of the conference. The full Conference Grant application must be submitted, at minimum, 150 days before the start of the conference.

4. A new cross-cutting program area priority in this RFA is “Reducing Food Loss and Waste across the Supply Chain” (program code A1741), whereas the program area priority “USDA Nutrition Hubs” will not be offered in FY 2025.

5. A Mentoring Plan is now required for all AFRI grant applications (excluding conference 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 2025-2026 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

2025 UPDATES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF TABLES

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

PART VII. OTHER INFORMATION

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

APPENDIX I: AGENCY CONTACT

APPENDIX II: GLOSSARY OF TERMS

APPENDIX III: DEFINITIONS

APPENDIX IV: OTHER AFRI RESOURCES

TABLE OF TABLES

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: Novel Foods and Innovative 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: Sustainable Bioeconomy through Biobased Products Key Information Table 23: Sustainable Agroecosystems Key Information Table 24: Environmental Justice Key Information Table 25: Engineering for Agricultural Production and Processing Key Information Table 26: Biorefining and Biomanufacturing Key Information Table 27: Nanotechnology for Agricultural and Food Systems Key Information Table 28: Engineering for Precision Crop and Water Management Key Information Table 29: Small and Medium-Sized Farms Key Information Table 30: Economics, Markets and Trade Key Information Table 31: Social Implications of Food and Agricultural Technologies Key Information Table 32: Rural Economic Development Key Information Table 33: Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Key Information Table 34: Agricultural Microbiomes in Plant Systems and Natural Resources Key Information 88 Table 35: Critical Agricultural Research and Extension (CARE) Key Information Table 36: Data Science for Food and Agricultural Systems (DSFAS) Key Information Table 37: Inter-Disciplinary Engagement in Animal Systems (IDEAS) Key Information Table 38: Agricultural Biosecurity Key Information Table 39: Regional Partnerships for Extension & Education Partnership Key Information Table 40: AFRI Commodity Board Co-funding Topics Key Information Table 41: Rapid Response to Extreme Weather Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems Key Information Table 42: Reducing Food Loss and Waste Across the Supply Chain Key Information ........ Error!

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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 address key problems of local, regional, national, and global importance in sustaining conventional, organic, urban, food and 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 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. 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.

Food and agricultural systems face ever-growing constraints including growing populations;

pressure on natural resources; challenges of climate variability and change; and complex demands of ensuring nutritional security and food safety in a global economy. Addressing these challenges requires research, education, extension, and integrated programs in concert with 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 science-based approaches that increase agricultural and natural resource sustainability. The term 'sustainable agriculture' (7 U.S.C. 3103) means a combined system of plant and animal production practices relevant to site-specific application that will achieve the following long-term goals: 1) satisfy human food and fiber needs; 2) enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy and rural communities depend; 3) make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate natural biological cycles and controls; 4) sustain the economic viability of farm operations; and

5) enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole. The AFRI program provides unique grant support for projects addressing sustainability of agricultural systems.

Global Engagement. NIFA supports global engagement that advances U.S. agricultural goals.

NIFA recognizes that collaboration with international partners may be necessary to attain the agency's goals for U.S. agriculture, promote global competence of our nation’s future agricultural workforce, and promote safe and nutritious food security in a growing world.

Therefore, although application to this RFA is limited to eligible U.S. institutions, applicants may collaborate with international partners, to include subcontracts to international partners or other institutions. Applications must clearly demonstrate benefits to the United States. Additional guidance on including international activities is provided on the AFRI International Partnerships Page.

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.

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

This AFRI RFA will support projects that significantly advance foundational and applied sciences for the following USDA priority outcomes:

1. Human diversity, equity, inclusion, and access;

2. Agricultural practices that provide for adaptation to ecological perturbation and mitigate climate change;

3. Rural economic development and post-pandemic economic revitalization;

4. Food and nutrition security; and

5. Open and competitive markets.

The AFRI Foundational and Applied Science RFA is aligned with the following:

USDA Strategic Plan FY 2022-2026 goals:

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:7%20section:3157%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title7-section3103)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/programs/agriculture-food-research-initiative/faq/international https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/programs/agriculture-food-research-initiative/faq/international https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/usda-fy-2022-2026-strategic-plan.pdf

1. Strategic Goal 1: Combat Climate Change to Support America’s Working Lands, Natural Resources and Communities

2. Strategic Goal 2: Ensure America’s Agricultural System is Equitable, Resilient, and Prosperous

3. Strategic Goal 3: Foster an Equitable and Competitive Marketplace for All Agricultural Producers

4. Strategic Goal 4: Provide All Americans Safe, Nutritious Food

5. Strategic Goal 5: Expand Opportunities for Economic Development and Improve Quality of Life in Rural and Tribal Communities

USDA Science and Research Strategy, 2023–2026 priorities:

1. Priority 1: Accelerating Innovative Technologies & Practices

2. Priority 2: Driving Climate-Smart Solutions

3. Priority 3: Bolstering Nutrition Security & Health

4. Priority 4: Cultivating Resilient Ecosystems

5. Priority 5: Translating Research into Action

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 through break-through discoveries and the translation of these into plant production and protection practices. The outcomes of these projects are expected to increase production efficiencies and combat persistent threats and new challenges, including climate change, that limit the achievement of dependable yields across variable growing conditions.

Plant-based 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 https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/usda-science-research-strategy.pdf plant and pest biology at the molecular, cellular, whole-organism, and systems levels to increase performance and provide protection from biotic and abiotic stressors increasingly exacerbated by climate change. 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 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 and global 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:

a. Agricultural Microbiomes in Plant Systems and Natural Resources (A1402), Agricultural Biosecurity (A1181), and Critical Agriculture Research and Extension (A1701) program area priorities are described in Crosscutting Programs.

b. Plant Biotic Interactions will be offered through an interagency program with National Science Foundation (NSF); the NIFA program contact is Dr. Amer Fayad, (816) 894- 7228 or amer.fayad@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 underserved farmers or small- or medium-sized farms are welcome.

d. Applications from and collaborations with minority-serving institutions, small to mid-sized institutions, and/or institutions within the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) states are welcome in this program area.

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

f. 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 program (A9201) described in the AFRI SAS RFA.

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

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505267 mailto:amer.fayad@usda.gov https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23019/nsf23019.jsp https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23019/nsf23019.jsp https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/programs/agriculture-food-research-initiative-afri/afri-fase-epscor-program https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/programs/agriculture-food-research-initiative-afri/afri-fase-epscor-program https://nifa.usda.gov/program/afri-sas

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 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, Conference, and FASE (Strengthening Standard, New Investigator, Strengthening Conference, Seed, Equipment, and Sabbatical) Grants only

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

Letter of Intent Deadline

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

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

Application Deadline(s)

a. 2025: Thursday, September 11, 2025 (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

b. 2026: Thursday, September 10, 2026 (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

c. Conference Grants: Submitted after LOI decision response and a minimum of 150 days before the conference 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 Conference 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 Conference and Equipment Grants

Program Area Priority Contact(s):

a. Dr. Mathieu Ngouajio, (202) 570-1915 or mathieu.ngouajio@usda.gov

b. Dr. John Erickson, (816) 283-6422 or john.erickson@usda.gov mailto:mathieu.ngouajio@usda.gov mailto:john.erickson@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 will 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, modeling, or agroecological approaches. Results are expected to lead to the development of innovative sustainable solutions to challenges limiting or threatening the productivity, profitability, and good stewardship of natural resources, environment, and human capital. Projects involving the use of traditional ecological knowledge in designing agricultural systems will be appropriate for this program area priority. Also welcome are applications that incorporate virtual learning options, where appropriate and practical for integrated programs.

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

a. Investigate how multiple management components of agricultural production systems can be integrated to enhance soil-crop-atmospheric processes or resilience to various biotic and abiotic stressors including those exacerbated by climate change, and improve product quality and/or productivity;

b. Determine how production systems, including regenerative 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 extremes associated with climate change, and other stressors that influence productivity and/or product quality (including nutritional quality);

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

or

d. 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.

Program Area Priority 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 underserved farmers or 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-based 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, agroforestry, 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-based products are welcome. Plant-based products may include but are not limited to oil, fiber, nutra- and pharmaceuticals, nutrients, proteins, 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 climate change, ecosystems health, rangelands, or addressing issues at the landscape or regional scale may be more appropriate for the Sustainable Agroecosystems: Health, Functions, Processes and Management Program Area Priority (A1451).

k. Starting in 2026, priority d (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, Conference, and FASE (Strengthening Standard, New Investigator, Strengthening Conference, Seed, Equipment, and Sabbatical) Grants only

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

Title Description Letter of Intent

Deadline

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

b. LOIs must follow the instructions in Part IV, A and be emailed to the program contact(s) below Application Deadline(s)

a. 2025: Thursday, August 7, 2025 (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

b. 2026: Thursday, August 13, 2026 (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

c. Conference Grants: submitted after LOI decision response and a minimum of 150 days before the conference 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 Conference 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 Conference and Equipment Grants

Program Area Priority Contact(s):

a. Dr. Vance Owens, (816) 283-6925 or vance.owens@usda.gov

b. Dr. Victoria Finkenstadt, (816) 520-8456 or victoria.finkenstadt@usda.gov

Program Area Priority:

The Foundational Knowledge of Plant Products program supports projects to study the 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.

Program Area Priority Additional Information:

a. Requests exceeding budgetary guidelines will not be reviewed.

Unless otherwise stated, grants are not renewable.

mailto:vance.owens@usda.gov mailto:victoria.finkenstadt@usda.gov

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

c. Projects with specific types of partnerships (small and mid-sized or minority-serving degree-granting institutions not on the list of most successful institutions; EPSCoR institutions; or international partners) can request up to an additional $150,000 as specified in the key information table. See Part II § E for detailed eligibility restrictions.

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 or environmental responses 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, Conference, and FASE (Strengthening Standard, New Investigator, Strengthening Conference, Seed, Equipment, and Sabbatical) Grants only

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

Letter of Intent Deadline

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

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

Application Deadline(s)

a. 2025: Thursday, September 18, 2025 (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

b. 2026: Thursday, September 17, 2026 (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

c. Conference Grants: submitted after LOI decision response and a minimum of 150 days before the conference begins Grant Duration: b. 36-60 months for Standard Grants, Strengthening Standard

Grants, Equipment and New Investigator Standard Grants

c. Up to 24 months for all Seed Grants

d. Up to 12 months for Sabbatical Grants

e. Up to 60 months for Conference 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)

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

b. $50,000 for Conference and Equipment Grants

Program Area

Priority Contact(s):

a. Dr. Emmanuel Byamukama, emmanuel.byamukama@usda.gov

b. Dr. Vijay Nandula, vijay.nandula@usda.gov

c. Dr. Ann Stapleton, ann.stapleton@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 US agricultural systems. Appropriate plant-based 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 US 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, climate change, 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;

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;

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;

f. Use of traditional ecological knowledge in pest and disease control.

Program Area Priority Additional Information:

a. Requests exceeding budgetary guidelines will not be reviewed. Unless otherwise stated, grants are not renewable.

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

c. Applicants must ensure applications are submitted to the right program or program area mailto:vijay.nandula@usda.gov mailto:ann.stapleton@usda.gov 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).

d. Applications to study pests of livestock or humans (e.g., vectors of human diseases or…