U.S. Department of Agriculture — National Institute of Food and Agriculture · General
USDA NIFA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)
USDA's flagship competitive research grant program. Funds fundamental and applied research, education, and extension projects across six AFRI priority areas (plant health, animal health, food safety, sustainable bioenergy, water, childhood obesity prevention).
Program facts
- Typical award
- $150K – $10M
- Non-federal match
- Varies by NOFO
- Audience
- Local governments and eligible subrecipients
- Application window
- Annual; deadlines vary by priority area RFA.
- Typical prep time
- 10–18 weeks
- Statutory authority
- Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act §2 (7 U.S.C. §3157)
Catalog entry last verified 2026-05-27 · Verify on the agency page →
Eligibility at a glance
- Institutions of higher education are eligible applicants.
Eligibility broader than IHEs — also includes nonprofit research orgs and federal labs; this entry scopes to the IHE eligibility path. Amounts and timing approximate; verify directly with administering agency.
How Strategic Pursuit scores this program
When you run a city dossier, Strategic Pursuit cross-checks the city's demographics, federal award history, disaster history, and CEJST burden categories against this program's eligibility and strategic-fit signals. You see an explicit eligibility / strategic / competitive grade — backed by source citations — instead of a generic "match" badge.
Planning purposes only. Award ranges, match percentages, and application windows on this page summarize the latest publicly available agency guidance and are approximate. Always verify the binding NOFO on the administering agency's page before applying.