- Author: Kathleen P Nolan
NIFA has announced $5 million in funding for Food, Energy, and Water Systems Research (INFEWS) program, a multi-agency initiative with the National Science Foundation. INFEWS grants fund scientific investigation into these complex systems and how society can better prepare for the future. NSF and NIFA encourage international collaborative research involving scientists and engineers from a range of disciplines and organizations to solve the significant global challenges at the nexus of these complex and interdependent systems.
The INFEWS initiative seeks to:
- Advance our understanding of the food-energy-water system through quantitative, predictive and computational modeling, including support for relevant cyberinfrastructure,
- Develop real-time, cyber-enabled interfaces that improve understanding of the behavior of food-energy-water systems and increase decision support capability, and
- Enable research that will lead to innovative solutions to critical food-energy-water systems problems.
The deadline for INFEWS applications is March 6, 2017.
See the OCG Calendar for an overview or the INFEWS request for proposals for complete details.
NIFA has announced $4 million in funding for Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research (BRAG) program. The BRAG program supports applied and fundamental research to help federal regulators evaluate questions on hazard potential, severity and extent of potential hazards, and other effects of GE organisms. BRAG proposals may support standard research or conference proposals that bring together stakeholders to review science-based data relevant to risk assessment or risk management related to genetic engineering.
The deadline for the optional Letter of Intent is January 26, 2017 with a full application due March 30, 2017.
See the OCG Calendar for an overview, or the BRAG request for applications for complete details.
NIFA has announced $3.8 million for research to help farmers and ranchers meet growing demand for organic products. The funding is to support research, education and extension to support organic farmers and ranchers as well as those adopting organic practices for the first time. The grants are funded through the Organic Transitions Program (ORG).
Priority research areas include:
- Documenting and understanding the effects of organic practices such as crop rotation, livestock-crop integration, organic manure, mulch and/or compost additions, cover crops, and reduced or conservation tillage on ecosystem services, greenhouse gas mitigation, and biodiversity.
- Improving technologies, methods, model development and other metrics to document, describe and optimize the environmental services and climate change mitigation ability of organic farming systems.
- Developing cultural practices and other allowable alternatives to substances recommended for removal from NOP's National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.
- Addressing major barriers that limit the transition to organic agriculture in a given region or specific crop or animal production systems.
The deadline for ORG applications is March 9, 2017.
See the OCG Calendar for an overview or the INFEWS request for applications for complete details.
If you are interested in applying to these opportunities, please contact the Office of Contracts and Grants to request proposal development assistance.
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)