Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program Foundational and Applied Science Program

The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program Foundational and Applied Science Program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The opportunity is a federal discretionary grant under Assistance Listing 10.310, Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. The program supports fundamental and applied science important to agriculture and is designed to advance knowledge across major agricultural research, education, and extension priorities. The program supports six AFRI priority areas: Plant Health and Production and Plant Products; Animal Health and Production and Animal Products; Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health; Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment; Agriculture Systems and Technology; and Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities. The solicitation includes research-only, extension-only, and integrated research, education, and/or extension projects. Applicants must consult the Foundational and Applied Science Request for Applications for the requirements associated with the specific program area priority and project type they intend to pursue. Estimated total program funding is 300000000 dollars. The stated award floor is 10000 dollars and the award ceiling is 10000000 dollars. The source does not provide an expected number of awards. Cost sharing or matching is not required according to the Grants.gov synopsis. The information provided does not identify additional spending restrictions, indirect cost limitations, subaward limits, or a uniform period of performance applicable to all projects, so applicants must rely on the applicable program area requirements in the RFA for any such conditions. Eligibility depends on project type. For single-function Research, Education, or Extension Projects, eligible applicants include State Agricultural Experiment Stations; colleges and universities, including junior colleges offering associate degrees or higher; university research foundations; other research institutions and organizations; federal agencies; national laboratories; private organizations or corporations; U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent resident individuals; and groups consisting of two or more eligible entities. Foreign and international organizations are not eligible. For Integrated Projects, eligible applicants include colleges and universities, 1994 Land-Grant Institutions, and Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges and universities. A research foundation maintained by a college or university may also receive an award under the program. Additional eligibility requirements apply to Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement grants. FASE opportunities include grant types such as New Investigator Standard, New Investigator Seed, Strengthening Standard, Strengthening Workshop, Strengthening Seed, Equipment, and Sabbatical Grants when specifically solicited by an applicable program area priority. Not every grant type is available under every program area priority, and only grant types expressly identified for the applicable priority will be considered for review. Applicants must satisfy all eligibility requirements in the RFA by the application deadline; failure to do so may result in exclusion from consideration or prevent NIFA from making an award. The supplied synopsis does not state separate evaluation criteria, application questions, required attachments, or a pre-application gating requirement. The opportunity was posted on August 1, 2025, and the current and original closing date is December 31, 2026. The archive date is January 30, 2027. No recurring schedule, rolling application policy, separate letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal deadline, award notification date, or performance period is stated in the supplied source. Applications are submitted through the Grants.gov application workspace associated with the opportunity. Questions about preparing application content may be directed to grantapplicationquestions@usda.gov. NIFA Support is identified for difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, with business hours Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, except federal holidays.

Confirm eligibility for the selected project type and program area priority before submission because failure to meet eligibility requirements by the deadline may result in exclusion from consideration or prevent an award. For FASE funding, verify that the desired grant type is specifically solicited under the selected program area priority because not every grant type is available under every priority.