USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) invests in research, education, and Extension and outreach that keeps American agriculture productive, profitable, and at the forefront of innovation.
Through partnerships with the Land-grant University System—a network of more than 100 colleges and universities in every State and territory—NIFA leverages more than 10,000 scientists, educators, and Extension professionals to turn discovery into real-world solutions for farmers, ranchers, families, and communities.
NIFA funds more than 80 programs spanning the full breadth of agricultural sciences from crop and livestock production to food, safety, nutrition, natural resources, and rural economic prosperity and supporting work at every stage from foundational research to the classroom and the farm gate.
Our work at NIFA to advance discovery and create solutions is feeding people and fueling progress.
Goals
- Improve and increase the production of goods and services from working lands
- Achieve food security and fight hunger
- Combat childhood obesity by ensuring the availability of nutritious, safe food and providing individuals and families science‐based nutritional guidance
- Ensure the development of the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences workforce
We are a small and agile agency, comprised of scientists who guide our grant programs as well as talented support professionals. That’s who we are at USDA NIFA.
NIFA programs propel innovation from research laboratories to farms, classrooms, and communities. Through three main Federal funding mechanisms, NIFA supports programs that address national challenges.
Partnerships are the core of the integrated approach NIFA uses to discover and apply groundbreaking solutions to critical issues related to agriculture, food, the environment, and communities.
Land-grant University Map
NIFA’s key partner is the Land-grant University System, which includes the 1862 public universities; the 1890 historically Black colleges and universities and Tuskegee University; and the 1994 Tribal colleges and universities.
Explore Map
The NIFA Newsroom is your source for all our press releases, announcements, blogs, and impact stories.
NIFA has embarked on its Grants Modernization Initiative (GMI) to transform and modernize our grants management systems, processes, and policies. This multi-year effort will result in NIFA adopting a new grants management system, eRA. If you have a question or need support, please reach out to...
NIFA’s Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights provides leadership in the implementation of Federal nondiscrimination laws, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) equal opportunity policy for NIFA employees and grantees, primarily under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.