NIFA administers Federal funding to address food and agricultural issues through several funding mechanisms and works in a variety of areas. If you would like a consultation with a National Program Leader (NPL) to discuss your project’s potential fit to a program, visit our NPLs page. To explore the NIFA grants process further, please visit our grants process page.
- Competitive grant programs enable NIFA, via a rigorous peer review process, to select the highest quality proposals from a large pool of institutions and organizations. Each competitive program may have different eligibility rules.
- Capacity grant programs ensure that the Land-grant University System and other partners maintain the ability to conduct research and Extension activities. These programs are intended for Land-grant institutions, schools of forestry, and schools of veterinary medicine.
- Noncompetitive grant programs are directed by Congress to support designated institutions for research, education, or Extension/outreach on topics of importance to a State or region.
- Loan repayment is an area of funding where NIFA has a single program. The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program helps qualified veterinarians offset a significant portion of the debt incurred in pursuit of their veterinary medicine degrees in return for their service in high-priority regions.
Page last updated: March 30, 2026