USDA NIFA has released the AFRI Education and Workforce Development funding opportunity aimed at addressing projected workforce shortages across the agricultural, food, forestry, rangeland, and energy resources sectors. This opportunity supports education and training initiatives designed to strengthen the workforce pipeline and ensure that future graduates are equipped with the skills needed to succeed in an increasingly digital and technology-driven society. An encouraged focus area of this opportunity is Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a foundational skill for the next generation of agricultural professionals. Projects may create training programs that equip participants with essential skills and competencies across the respective program area priority learning pathways.
Available Program Areas (link to RFP for details):
- Professional Development for Agricultural Literacy - A7501
- This program focuses on increasing the number of K–14 educational professionals trained in the food and agricultural sciences. Projects must help educators integrate agricultural science concepts into curricula, introduce students to career pathways, and build connections with industry and higher education.
- Due date: 03/19/26
- Max grant amount: $500K
- Max duration: 3 - 4 years
- Agricultural Workforce Training at Community Colleges (AWT) - A7601
- This program supports new or expanded workforce training programs at community, junior, and technical colleges that prepare a technology and data savvy ready agricultural workforce. Design projects seek to support faculty and staff to design and develop new credentialed workforce training programs. Implementation projects seek to train students to acquire the skills and tools necessary to secure an industry-accepted credential and join the workforce.
- Due date: 03/19/26
- Max Grant amount: $650K for implementation projects; $250k for design projects
- Max duration: 1 - 4 years
- Food and Agricultural Non-Formal Education - FANE (A7801)
- This program supports non-formal education initiatives that foster the development of technology-savvy youth to be able to enter or gain skills applicable to the food and agriculture fields. Projects must adopt or develop curriculum and activities to cultivate interest and competencies in STEM and in food and agricultural sciences. Data science, including artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, gene editing, biotechnology and other projects involving emerging technologies will be supported in this Program Area Priority.
- Due date: 03/19/26
- Max grant amount: $650K
- Max duration: 3 - 4 years
- Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (A7401)
- This program promotes experiences that prepare undergraduate students to enter the agricultural workforce with advanced technology and data savvy related skills. Projects must provide undergraduate students with experiential learning opportunities that include significant research, extension/outreach, and/or education components in the food and agricultural sciences.
- Due date: 03/19/26
- Max grant amount: $650K
- Max duration: 4 years
- Predoctoral Fellowships (A7101)
- The Predoctoral Fellowships program supports doctoral students conducting dissertation research in the food and agricultural sciences. Fellowships are designed to cultivate future leaders in research, education, extension, policy, and innovation who can address emerging challenges in agriculture and food systems.
- Due date: 04/16/26
- Max grant amount: $180K
- Max duration: 3 years
- Postdoctoral Fellowships (A7201)
- The Postdoctoral Fellowships program supports early-career scientists who have recently completed their doctoral degrees and are establishing independent research, education, or extension programs in the food and agricultural sciences.
- Due date: 04/30/26
- Max grant amount: $244K
- Max duration: 2 years
- Education and Workforce Development Workshop Grants (A7001)
- This program supports workshops that convene stakeholders to advance agricultural literacy, workforce development, and experiential learning in the food and agricultural sciences. Workshops must focus on education and workforce development outcomes and align with one or more of the EWD program goals. Topics related to AI-enabled education, workforce readiness, experiential learning, and educator professional development are encouraged.
- Letter of Intent: Required a minimum of 255 days before the workshop begins. Full applications are by invite only.
- Max grant amount: $50K
Cost Share or Match:
- 1:1 match is required for applied research grants unless a waiver applies.
- If an applied research project or integrated project with an applied research component is not commodity specific or is national in scope, then no match is required.