Rapid Response to Extreme Weather Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems (A1712) FAQs

It is a crosscutting AFRI program designed to rapidly deploy strategies and fill knowledge and information gaps to protect the nation’s food and agricultural supply chains, from production through consumption, during and after weather-related disasters.

General questions can be sent to our team’s email:  afri-rapidresponse@usda.gov.

1. The RAPID RESPONSE TO EXTREME WEATHER PROGRAM has 2 different grant types:
   • Standard Grants
   • Strengthening Standard Grants (FASE)
      
2. The Standard Grants and Strengthening Standard Grants (FASE) are for applicants who intend to design and implement extension or integrated (research and extension) projects directly related to recent extreme weather events or disasters. The A1712 Standard and Strengthening Standard awards are for no more than $300,000 per project, and project duration is 12 months. Proposals are accepted on a continuous basis.
    
3. Please visit The AFRI RFA Resources page to download the "FASE Strengthening Grant Eligibility Flow Chart," and other resources, to determine if you or your institution is eligible for a Strengthening Award.

The project types are:

• Extension 
• Integrated (extension and research)

Please visit The AFRI RFA Resources to download the "AFRI Project Types" and other resources to determine which project type is the best fit for your project.

The RAPID RESPONSE TO EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS PROGRAM Standard and Strengthening Standard Grants (FASE) must address one or more of the following emphasis areas:

• Agroecosystem Resilience
• Food Safety, Nutrition Security, and Agricultural Commodity Security
• Health, Well-Being, and Safety

• The A1712 program area priority encourages projects to have well-developed extension and/or outreach activities. In project narratives, and other application materials, applicants must be able to provide a clear, strategic approach to reaching end users.
   
• This program area priority seeks applications that focus on the following:
  • Critical and urgent solutions in rapid response to disaster impacts on the nation’s food and agricultural systems.
  • Supporting or adding value to existing educational materials regarding extreme weather, disasters, and naturally occurring hazards.
  • Integrating youth and adult volunteer development aspects by leveraging existing extension networks and outreach programs, including 4-H and positive youth development efforts.
  • Clearly describing short-term deliverables (within 90 days of award receipt)
  • Clearly defining the geographic scope of the project as related to the extreme weather event or disaster.
  • Please refer to the A1712 RAPID RESPONSE TO EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS ACROSS FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS crosscutting program section in the AFRI Foundational and Applied Science (FAS) RFA for additional information on this priority area.

• Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement (FASE) grants help institutions develop competitive projects and attract new scientists and educators to careers in the agriculture, food, and environmental sciences high-priority areas of national need.
   
• FASE Grants have additional eligibility requirements; please refer to Part II § C.2 of the AFRI FAS RFA for requirements specific to FASE Grant applications. 

Please refer to Part III § A of the AFRI FAS RFA of the A1712 RAPID RESPONSE TO EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS ACROSS FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS crosscutting AFRI program, which addresses applicant eligibility.

Yes. Therefore, this priority area is for addressing extreme weather events exacerbated by a changing climate. It is not for events or incidents stemming from geologic events like earthquakes or volcanic eruptions or non-weather events related structural failures like levee breaches that subsequently flood communities.

Yes. The applicant must provide justification for why this is an urgent priority. A disaster declaration is not required to apply.  

Information about allowable costs for NIFA awards can be found in section VI of the NIFA Federal Assistance Policy Guide (NIFA-21-002)

If you applied for an A1712 RAPID RESPONSE TO EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS ACROSS FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS grant and were denied, we encourage you to apply again. Your new submission should be a proposal that addresses a recent extreme weather event or disaster and that has significant changes to allow for a different outcome.

According to USGS, the beginning of a drought can be difficult to determine and several weeks, months, or even years might pass before people know that a drought is occurring. Therefore, submitting a proposal related to this type of extreme weather event or disaster is flexible. It is the applicant's responsibility to monitor conditions, identify the extreme weather event or disaster, and explain its impacts in a compelling proposal.

No. The Rapid Response to Extreme Weather program is not a disaster assistance program. It is a grant program that supports critical post-disaster extension and research activities. For individuals looking for USDA disaster assistance programs, visit farmers.gov for more information.

• The intent of the A1712 program area is to fund projects focused on extreme weather events and disasters that cause disruptions in food and agricultural systems. This is not a technical hazard assistance program, and it does not address human caused disasters.  
  • For proposals dealing with a severe urgency in regard to availability of, or access to data, facilities or specialized equipment, including quick-response research on natural or anthropogenic disasters and similar unanticipated events, please explore the “Grants for Rapid Response Research” (RAPID) option under NSF’s Biosensing program: https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/biosensing-0. 
     
• Proposals are accepted on a continuous basis and must directly address effects associated with extreme weather events or disasters that have occurred. Applications may be submitted within 30 days of a disaster or an extreme weather incident. Applicants may use data and/or information from National Weather Service, Farm Service Agency, FEMA, and other sources to justify a direct need for rapid response activities. It is the applicant’s responsibility to monitor conditions, identify the extreme weather event or disaster, and explain its impacts. Applicants must be able to justify that response activities are still occurring and be able to answer the questions, “Why this funding and why now?” USDA NIFA will not monitor extreme weather events and disasters or announce an open call for proposals.

The purpose of this program area is Rapid Response to Extreme Weather events and part of the 30-day application deadline is to ensure that the proposals that are submitted are responsive to recent events rather than anticipating future events. That said, both the NIFA program staff and the reviewers that work with this program recognize that the impacts of an event may stretch beyond the initial inciting event. It is up to the applicant to define the 30-day timeframe that defines the impacts they are addressing within the proposal.

No.

Standard and Strengthening standard grant maximum award is $300,000 and this includes indirect costs.

12 months.

For Standard Grants and Strengthening Standard Grants, the application deadline is within 30 calendar days after an extreme weather event or disaster. It is the applicant’s responsibility to monitor conditions, identify the extreme weather event or disaster, and explain its impacts. Applicants must be able to justify that response activities are still occurring and be able to answer the questions, “Why this funding and why now?”

You can make sure to have updated current and pending forms and conflict-of-interest forms in your grant application. Please be prepared to quickly respond to information inquiries from NIFA staff.

A list of previously funded projects can be found here.