Stakeholder input is a key driver in determining NIFA’s research, education, and extension priorities. This process ensures that user-inspired science beginning in the lab reaches the people who need it: Professionals in ag-related fields, educators, and consumers.
NIFA developed, delivered, and evaluated the agency’s science objectives through nine Science Emphasis Areas (SEAs):
- Agroclimate Science
- Bioeconomy-Bioenergy-Bioproducts
- Education and Multicultural Alliances
- Environmental Systems
- Family & Consumer Sciences
- Food Safety
- Human Nutrition
- Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems
- Youth Development
The nine SEAs are administered by NIFA's four programmatic institutes:
- Institute of Food Production and Sustainability (IFPS)
- Institute of Bioenergy, Climate, and Environment (IBCE)
- Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition (IFSN)
- Institute of Youth, Family and Community (IYFC)
Advancing U.S. agriculture through global engagement is a theme that cuts across all of NIFA’s SEAs. NIFA’s Center for International Programs works with the four institutes to develop partnerships and collaborations that apply the best science to problems we face, increase our global competitiveness, and maintain U.S. leadership internationally.
The following tables and pie chart detail NIFA's science emphasis areas and competitive funding by science emphasis area. All information labeled with an asterisk (*) is estimated.
| Science Emphasis Areas | Institute |
|---|---|
| Agroclimate Science | IFPS, IBCE |
| Bioeconomy, Bioenergy, Bioproducts | IFPS, IBCE |
| Education and Multicultural Alliances | IYFC |
| Environmental Systems | IBCE |
| Family & Consumer Sciences | IYFC |
| Food Safety | IFSN, IYFC |
| Human Nutrition | IFSN, IYFC |
| Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems | IFPS, IBCE, IFSN, IYFC |
| Youth Development | IYFC |
| Science Emphasis Areas | Total Competitive Project Funding by Portfolio* | Competitive Projects Active in 2018* |
|---|---|---|
| Agroclimate Science | $5,927,439 | 31 |
| Bioeconomy, Bioenergy, Bioproducts | 11,213,855 | 30 |
| Education and Multicultural Alliances | 37,059,729 | 157 |
| Environmental Systems | 132,745,425 | 335 |
| Family & Consumer Sciences | 79,149,537 | 272 |
| Food Safety | 43,532,361 | 161 |
| Human Nutrition | 49,342,177 | 131 |
| Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems | 346,700,406 | 787 |
| Youth Development | 19,278,103 | 93 |
| Total | $724,949,032 |
Programs
Farm bill priority areas
Bioenergy, natural resources, and environment;
Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health
