A Stakeholder Input Opportunity
This NIFA Listens stakeholder listening opportunity informs the research, extension and education priorities of NIFA, which has the mission of investing in and advancing agricultural research, education and extension to solve societal challenges. For the purpose of this opportunity, agriculture is defined broadly and includes research, Extension and education in food, fiber, forestry, range, nutritional and social sciences, including food safety and positive youth development. NIFA's investments in transformative science directly support the long-term prosperity and global pre-eminence of U.S. agriculture in food and agriculture.
You may now view these recorded sessions on YouTube:
The NIFA Listens 2023-2024 Report is now live.
This effort to obtain input regarding the challenges, needed breakthroughs, and priorities will be carried out through online and virtual submission mechanisms. Stakeholder input received from the two mechanisms is treated equally.
This 2022 listening opportunity allows stakeholders to provide feedback on the following topics:
- What are your top priorities for research, Extension or education for NIFA?
- What are the most promising opportunities/solutions for advancement of these food and agricultural priorities?
- What are the greatest challenges that you see facing food and agriculture in the coming decades, and what fundamental knowledge gaps exist that limit the ability of research, Extension, and education to respond to these challenges?
- Based on those challenges, what general areas of food and agricultural research should be advanced and supported to fill the knowledge gaps, and what is your top priority for research, Extension, and/or education for NIFA investment?
- How accessible do you find information about NIFA programs and activities to be?
- What can NIFA do to make information and resources more accessible?
- What is NIFA doing right, and are there opportunities to improve?
NIFA welcomes stakeholder input from any group or individual interested in agricultural research, Extension or education priorities for NIFA, and is eager to listen to comments on the challenges, needed breakthroughs, and priorities, solutions and opportunities that will facilitate long-term sustainable agricultural production, research, education and extension. This listening effort will focus on the agricultural science that NIFA invests in, and not on NIFA processes or procedures.
Provide Input
Online Input: Submission of online stakeholder input to the above topics will be open upon publishing of the Federal Register Notice through 5 p.m. ET November 30.
To submit online, please email: NIFAListens@usda.gov. Please include:
- Your name
- Organization
- Contact information
- Your input in plain text in the body of the email
Listening Session
Virtual Listening Session: A full-day listening session will be organized to obtain virtual input from stakeholders throughout the United States, including small institutions, local businesses, and other stakeholder groups. The listening sessions will take place on November 2. The morning session will begin at 8:30 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The afternoon session will begin at 2:00 p.m. and is scheduled to end at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
The session will include a presentation of the goals and background information on NIFA programs, followed by comments from stakeholders. Each registered speaker will receive 5 minutes to share their comments with the agency. If time allows after all comments from registered speakers are made, unscheduled speakers will be allowed 5 minutes to present their comments to the agency. The length of the sessions will be adjusted according to numbers of participants seeking to provide input. If you would like to sign up to provide verbal feedback, please follow the link in your Zoom registration email.
Registration: All parties interested in attending the virtual listening session must RSVP no later than one week prior to the scheduled session. The virtual listening session will be webcast and transcribed. The number of oral commenters is limited due to time and space constraints. Oral commenter slots will be allotted on a first-come, first-served basis. All interested stakeholders, regardless of attendance, are welcome to submit written comments. All parties interested in attending the virtual listening session must RSVP no later than one week prior to the scheduled session they will attend.
If you need a reasonable accommodation to register for, or participate in, this event, please contact Jessica Creighton, Acting Director of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, at Jessica.creighton@usda.gov, or 816-266-6947 no later than October 20, 2022. Language access services, such as interpretation or translation of vital information, will be provided free of charge to individuals with limited English proficiency upon request.
Previous NIFA Listens Information
Below are some links to resources associated with NIFA Listens sessions from previous years. This list will be updated as we host future NIFA Listens sessions.
• NIFA Listens Session Transcripts
• NIFA Listens 2017 Information