Grants for Agricultural Research – Competitive Research Grants

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture funds competitive research, education, and extension grants addressing agricultural challenges through CFDA 10.206, with the most recent grant award dated July 15, 2013. This program is not currently active; no grant awards have been disbursed in over thirteen years, and no grant opportunities are currently posted.

The portfolio demonstrates a sharp decline in activity. Awards peaked at 307 in 2009, then dropped to 17 in 2010 and continued falling to single digits by 2012–2013 (3 awards in 2012, 1 in 2013). The program has issued 3,884 Project Grants since 1998, with $1.26 billion in combined federal dollars obligated. All funding came from the Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Recent grant awards funded applied agricultural research spanning plant genetics, food safety, animal science, forestry management, and human nutrition. Representative funded projects include "Wheat Leaf Rust Genome Sequencing and Comparative Resources for Rust Fungi" ($847,031, January 2010), "Development of a Randomized Trial Guided by the Process of PRECEDE-PROCEED for Prevention of Excessive Weight Gain in Communities of Young Adults" ($1.499 million, August 2009), and "SPECIALTY POTATO AS A DELIVERY MECHANISM FOR BIOACTIVE CAROTENOIDS AND ANTHOCYANINS" ($56,965, July 2013). Typical awards ranged from $150,000 to $500,000, though some reached into seven figures.

The program consists entirely of Project Grants. Recent awards addressed topics including plant resistance to pests and disease, soil microbiology, animal reproduction and nutrition, food composition and processing, and agricultural workforce development. Given the thirteen-year funding gap and lack of active solicitations, this program should be monitored for reactivation but is not worth pursuing in its current state.