OARS funding Agriculture

The BIFAD Support Mechanism is to enable BIFAD to make informed and relevant recommendations to USAID on new and emerging issues related to food-and agriculture-related research, capacity development, trade and extension

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the availability of up to $10 million in competitive grants to assist communities with extremely high energy costs. The grant funds may be used to acquire, construct, or improve energy generation, transmission, or distribution facilities serving communities where the average annual residential expenditure for home energy exceeds 275% of the national average. Eligible projects also include on-grid and off-grid renewable energy projects and the implementation of energy efficiency and energy conservation projects for eligible communities. Projects cannot be for the primary benefit of a single household or business. Grant funds may not be used for the preparation of the grant application, operating costs, or for the purchase of any equipment, structures, or real estate not directly associated with the provision of community energy services.

Federal Awarding Agency Name: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agency: Natural Resources Conservation Service; Commodity Credit Corporation Funding Opportunity Title: Cooperative Conservation Agreements - Fiscal Year {FY) 2019 Announcement for Program Funding - CONNECTICUT Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NRCS-CT-CCA-19-GEN0010217 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 10.902, 10.912 and 10.931 SUMMARY The Natural Resources Conservation Service {NRCS), an agency under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing potential availability of cooperative agreements for the purpose of leveraging NRCS resources, addressing local natural resource issues, encouraging collaboration and developing state- and community-level conservation leadership. Proposals will be accepted for projects located in the state of Connecticut. Proposals are requested from federally recognized tribal governments, state and local units of government, non-governmental organizations, and institutions of higher learning for competitive consideration of agreement awards for projects between one (1) to five (5) years in duration. This notice identifies the objectives, eligibility criteria, and application instructions for projects. Proposals will be screened for completeness and compliance with the provisions of this notice. Incomplete and/or noncom pliant proposals will be eliminated from competition, and notification of elimination will be sent to the applicant.

FDA's CTP is seeking to develop a cigar tobacco reference products program that will require significant collaboration and research efforts with outside organizations.  The selected organization(s) will develop tobacco reference products representing at minimum three categories of commercially available cigars to be used for investigational nonclinical purposes by tobacco manufacturers, contract and government laboratories, and academic institutions. FDA's CTP will prioritize the cigar product types. 

Founded in 1982 and comprised of more than three hundred and fifty member companies, the American Herbal Products Association is the national trade association and voice of the herbal products industry.  Through its Foundation for Education and Research on Botanicals program, the association funds research on medicinal, therapeutic, and health-promoting herbs, with a focus on projects that inform and promote best industry practices and contribute to the sustainability of the botanicals and the herbal products industry.

This Request for Applications (RFA) solicits applications from eligible entities for grants and/or cooperative agreements to be awarded pursuant to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan II (https://www.glri.us/documents). This RFA is EPA's major competitive grant funding opportunity under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative ("GLRI" or "Initiative") for FY 2019 and FY 2020 and is one of several funding opportunities available through federal agencies and their funding recipients under the GLRI. EPA is seeking applications for funding to implement projects within five funding opportunities, each of which has a separate Funding Opportunity Number (FON) and is separately posted on www.grants.gov. Applicants must apply for the specific funding opportunity they are interested in. This funding opportunity is for Accelerating Adoption of Nutrient Management through Farmer-led Outreach and Education.

The goal of the Agriculture Growing Rural Opportunities (AGRO) Activity in Ukraine is to accelerate economic development of rural Ukrainian communities with the greatest need in through a better governed agricultural sector, to encourage more productive, modern, and profitable small and medium agricultural businesses that are successfully integrated into competitive markets both in Ukraine and internationally. High level results of AGRO are as follows: increased revenue of agricultural small and medium enterprises; increased access of agricultural SMEs to financing; establishment of fair and transparent agricultural land market (land reform); reducing corruption in the agriculture sector

Through its Foundation for Education and Research on Botanicals program, the association funds research on medicinal, therapeutic, and health-promoting herbs, with a focus on projects that inform and promote best industry practices and contribute to the sustainability of the botanicals and the herbal products industry.

n support of the Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP), the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor announces the availability of approximately $5,000,000 total costs (subject to the availability of Federal funds) for one cooperative to fund one technical assistance project in Colombia to economically empower vulnerable women and girls. The objective of the project is to reduce the risk of child labor, forced labor, and other violations of labor rights for vulnerable women and girls within the agricultural sector. The project will aim to achieve the following outcomes: Outcome 1: Improved economic participation in quality jobs within the agricultural sector by women and adolescent girls identified as vulnerable to child labor, forced labor, and/or other violations of labor rights. * Outcome 1.1: Vulnerable women and girls have an improved understanding of their rights and increased ability to access protections against child labor, forced labor, and other violations of labor rights. * Outcome 1.2: Vulnerable women and girls have enhanced skills. * Outcome 1.3: Vulnerable women and girls have increased opportunities for economic advancement.

The goal for this project is to develop and deliver a pilot nutrition paraprofessional training project for FDPIR staff working at local program sites. The training tools and resources developed under this grant should support the efforts of FDPIR local staff in conducting nutrition education activities for FDPIR participants who receive USDA foods.

The primary objective of the Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant program is to provide technical assistance to socially-disadvantaged groups through cooperatives and Cooperative Development Centers. Each fiscal year, applications are requested through a Notice published in the Federal Register and an announcement posted on Grants.gov.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is issued to announce the availability of a Cooperative Agreement designed to assist the FDA in developing, implementing, and improving a nationally consistent system of support which facilitates the implementation of state and territorial produce safety regulatory programs that are modernized and aligned with the standards set forth in the FDA's Regulation: "Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption" (commonly referred to as the Produce Safety Rule). This goal shall be accomplished in partnership with the FDA by identifying, generating, sharing, and leveraging resources and information which aid in the development and implementation of national, state, and territorial produce safety regulatory programs that are nationally uniform and consistent with the Produce Safety Rule, and which improve their effectiveness and enhance their capabilities.

One of the BLM's highest priorities is to promote ecosystem health and one of the greatest obstacles to achieving this goal is the rapid expansion of weeds across public lands. These invasive plants can dominate and often cause permanent damage to natural plant communities. If not eradicated or controlled, noxious weeds will continue to jeopardize the health of the public lands and to constrain the myriad activities that occur on public lands. BLM Invasive and Noxious Plant Management Programs work to prevent, detect, inventory, control and monitor weed populations on public lands. 1. Invasive species cost the public millions of dollars in control and management each year and many invasive plants and noxious weeds are highly competitive and have the ability to permanently degrade our public lands. 2. Noxious weeds and invasive species expansion are recognized as the single greatest threat to our native plant communities and the values they provide us. 3. These native plant communities are essential for supporting wildlife habitat, watershed function, recreation opportunities, rural economies and working landscapes. 4. Invasive plants and noxious weeds affect plant and animal communities on farms and ranches, and in parks, waters, forests, natural areas, and backyards in negative ways. 5. Human activity such as trade, travel, and tourism have all increased substantially, escalating the speed and volume of species movement to unprecedented levels.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), announces funding for the Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program (RAPP). Organizations funded under RAPP implement strategies that encourage the development of agricultural and food systems related services that will improve the livelihoods, physically and economically, of refugee families. These strategies work to provide sustainable and/or supplemental income, improved access to healthy foods and better nutrition, psychosocial development, and enhanced integration into communities by refugee families. Required activities under RAPP include: 1) Access to land; 2) Farming Production; 3) Training and Technical Assistance; and 4) Coordination with the Refugee Resettlement Community.

In FY 2019, NIFA's CFP intends to solicit applications and fund two types of grants. The types are entitled (1) Community Food Projects (CFP) and (2) Planning Projects (PP). The primary goals of the CFP are to: Meet the food needs of low-income individuals through food distribution, community outreach to assist in participation in Federally assisted nutrition programs, or improving access to food as part of a comprehensive service; Increase the self-reliance of communities in providing for the food needs of the communities; Promote comprehensive responses to local food access, farm, and nutrition issues; and Meet specific state, local or neighborhood food and agricultural needs including needs relating to: Equipment necessary for the efficient operation of a project; Planning for long-term solutions; or The creation of innovative marketing activities that mutually benefit agricultural producers and low-income consumers.

Approximately$11.5 million in competitive grant funds in fiscal year (FY) 2019 is availablefor award through the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP). LFPP is a component of the Farmers Market and Local Food PromotionProgram (FMLFPP), which is authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill under the LocalAgriculture Marketing Program (LAMP). The goal of LFPP grants are to develop, coordinateand expand local and regional food business enterprises that engage asintermediaries in indirect producer to consumer marketing to help increaseaccess to and availability of locally and regionally produced agricultural products.LFPP offers both Planning and Implementation projects. For LFPP Planning, theminimum award is 25,000 and a maximum of $100,000for up to 18 months (1.5 years). Applicantsare expected to begin on September 30, 2019 and be completed by March 31, 2021.For LFPP Implementation projects, the minimum award is $100,000 and a maximumof $500,500 for a period of 36 months (3 years). Applicants are expected tobegin September 30, 2019 and be completed by September 29, 2022. Matching funds of 25% of the Total Federalportion of the grant is required.

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research is accepting applications for Phase I of the Egg-Tech prize, an initiative intended to stimulate the development of technologies for the accurate, early-stage-in-ova sex determination of layer chicks. Several billion layer chicks are hatched each year to supply the world with eggs. Egg industry workers are only able to identify a chick's sex after it hatches. For the six billion laying hens hatched each year, a similar number of male chicks are produced that never make it to market. As male chicks cannot lay eggs and are unmarketable in meat quality, the male chicks are culled, creating major challenges in animal welfare and lost-opportunity costs that hinder farm profitability. The Egg-Tech Prize is designed to incentivize groups around the world to develop a commercially and economically viable technology that can identify the sex of poultry embryos prior to incubation. Expectations for Phase I of the program include the following: the technology is accurate (high sensitivity and specific); functions prior to incubation of eggs at 37-38 degrees Celsius; is capable of processing over two thousand eggs per hour; and is non-invasive (does not penetrate the eggshell).

To enhance and operate wildlife detection dog programs at key transit points in Africa to interdict illegal wildlife products.

Three types of research project are solicited. Projects 1 and 2: Congress has provided funding that will allow HUD to evaluate the efficacy of its resilience expenditures. HUD is soliciting proposals to conduct two distinct, but related, research studies: (1) a cost-effectiveness evaluation that investigates long- and short-term benefits and costs of expenditures designed to reduce risk to people and property from flood hazards and increase resilience to flood impacts, with explicit focus on impacts to vulnerable populations, and (2) an assessment of implementation of flood resilience strategies, with a goal of identifying those implementation practices that have the greatest chance of being successful across a range of communities. Following on each study - the cost-effectiveness analysis and the implementation study - the respective research organization(s) will produce guidance tools for communities carrying out flood resilience strategies. The cost-effectiveness guidance will include practical methods of project assessment that can be deployed by local communities and states with varying levels of capacity for assessing the benefits of resilience expenditures. Implementation guidance will include assessment of common implementation challenges and solutions and best practices for conceiving, planning, funding, and implementing flood resilience strategies, especially how to improve community participation and support of such strategies. For Project 3, HUD is funding co-operative agreements for pre-competitive research in homebuilding technologies that provide the homebuilding industry with new, innovative construction products or practices that lead to more affordable, energy efficient, resilient (in this sense, durable, disaster resistant, adaptable for future requirements, and maintainable), and healthier housing.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking application for a cooperative agreement from qualified entities to implement the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Crop Improvement. This NOFO is designed to develop a global portfolio of crop improvement research-for-development activities.