The start of the New Year sparks new resolutions and goals. USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) gears up for 2022 with the following goals and priorities in mind.
Support Priorities in Climate Change and Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry
NIFA will:
- Emphasize climate-smart agriculture across capacity and competitive programs with Land-grant University System.
- Encourage capacity programs to address and emphasize climate-smart priorities and mitigation goals.
- Support and funding opportunities under the Tribal/1994 Programs. NIFA will continue to strengthen its relationships with Tribal leaders and improve grant programs that specifically support Tribal communities.
- Provide support and funding opportunities for 1890 Programs. NIFA will continue to strengthen its relationships with 1890 leaders and improve existing specific grant programs.
- Provide support and funding opportunities for Hispanic-serving Institutions via the Education Grants Program.
- Enhance opportunities for Urban Agriculture projects.
- Emphasize integrated research, education, and extension projects RFAs for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative and the Organic Transitions Program, with an emphasis on projects that integrate research, education, and Extension projects to solve critical organic agriculture issues and improve competitiveness of organic livestock and crop producers.
- Enhance Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant Requests For Applications (RFA) to encourage research projects in topics related to market development.
- Encourage the directors of Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative Extension Services at 1862, 1890, and 1994 Land-grant Universities to create more and better market development opportunities in their Plans of Work and Annual Reports of Accomplishments for research and Extension capacity funds.
- Publish a competitive grant RFA for the Small Business Innovation Research program that supports creating or increasing market opportunities.
- Publish RFAs for funding that enhance more than 20 programs that support nutrition security and ensure food safety.
- Incorporate language in the AFRI grant RFAs that encourages research to improve nutrition security and enhance food safety, including: USDA Climate Hubs (a portion of this funding is reserved for nutrition security); Food Safety and Defense; Food and Human Health; Diet, Health, and Chronic Disease; Novel Foods and Innovative Manufacturing Technologies; and Dietary Biomarkers.
- Encourages capacity program applicants to include food and nutrition security topics in their Plans of Work.
NIFA will:
- Enhance support for these priorities through technical assistance, webinars, and other communications and outreach efforts.
- Enhance data, evaluation, and reporting systems to better measure the systemwide impact and achievements in these key priority areas.
- Enhance panel selection and management training to ensure optimal representation, efficiency, and effectiveness of the review peer-review process.
- Continue technology modernization efforts across the agency to provide optimal customer service and user experience.
