The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) is USDA’s flagship competitive grant program that provides funding for fundamental and applied research, education, and extension projects in the food and agricultural sciences. Within AFRI, the long-term purpose of the Sustainable Agricultural Systems (SAS) Request for Applications (RFA) is to help transform the U.S. food and agricultural system to increase agricultural production while also reducing its environmental footprint. Achieving these goals will require transdisciplinary approaches to address current and future food and agricultural challenges within the context of the economic, societal, and environmental attributes of sustainability.

For FY 2024, applications in response to the AFRI SAS RFA must focus on systems approaches that significantly improve the supply of climate-smart, sustainable, safe, healthy, and accessible food and other agricultural products while fostering economic revitalization in America. These creative approaches must address current needs of resilient and robust food systems and anticipate future social, economic, health, and environmental impacts. Additionally, the outcomes of the proposed work should result in societal benefits, including improved rural prosperity and enhanced quality of life for those involved in food and agricultural value chains from production to use and consumption. The specific goals addressed in this RFA include: Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry (CSAF), Strengthening the Bioeconomy, and Nutrition Security.

Estimated Total Program Funding: $80,000,000
Award Ceiling: $10,000,000
Award Floor: $50,000

Application Deadline: June 6, 2024