Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA SRGP 004188
Apply for USDA NIFA SRGP 004188
- The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Minor Crop Pest Management Program Interregional Research Project (IR 4)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.200 Grants for Agricultural Research, Special Research Grants.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 7, 2013 and posted on Feb 26, 2013.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 16, 2013. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $11,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $4,800,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- Applications may be submitted by State agricultural experiment stations, land grant colleges and universities, research foundations established by land grant colleges and universities, colleges and universities receiving funds under the Act of October 10, 1962 (16 U.S.C. 582a et seq.), and accredited schools or colleges of veterinary medicine for the purpose of facilitating or expanding ongoing state federal food and agricultural research programs.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Minor Crop Pest Management Program Interregional Research Project (IR-4) is a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) grant opportunity designed to fill a persistent gap in pest management options for minor and specialty crops. Its central goal is to help ensure that growers of these crops have access to safe, effective, and reasonably priced crop protection tools, including pesticides and other pest management products, that might otherwise never be developed or registered for their use. The program exists because the minor/specialty crop market is often too small to justify the private sector costs of conducting the necessary research, generating regulatory data, completing registration work, and ultimately producing and marketing these products. In practical terms, IR-4 functions as the bridge that makes it economically and logistically possible for new pest management solutions to be evaluated and moved through the registration pipeline for crops that do not offer large commercial returns on their own.
This funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: USDA NIFA SRGP 004188; CFDA 10.200, Special Research Grants) is a discretionary grant in the agriculture and environment activity areas. For FY 2013, NIFA anticipated funding five projects in total: one award intended to establish a national IR-4 headquarters and four awards intended to establish geographically based regional IR-4 centers. The structure highlights the program's interregional, collaborative nature, where a national coordinating hub supports multiple regional centers that can conduct research, trials, and coordination in different parts of the country while aligning priorities and data needs across regions.
The announcement emphasized that success under IR-4 depends on coordinated partnerships among federal agencies, the crop protection industry, and land grant colleges and universities. That collaboration is key because developing and registering crop protection products requires multiple types of expertise and capacity: field and laboratory research to generate efficacy and residue data, regulatory science to meet EPA or other registration requirements, and strong communication channels among public researchers, regulators, and industry registrants. IR-4 is essentially designed to organize and finance the pieces that would be too fragmented or too costly for any single minor-crop stakeholder to carry alone.
From a funding and administrative standpoint, the opportunity listed an estimated total funding amount of $11,000,000, with an award ceiling of $4,800,000. The program did not require cost sharing or matching funds, which reduces barriers for eligible institutions to participate. Key timeline details included a posted date of February 26, 2013, an original closing date of April 2, 2013, and a revised/current closing date of April 16, 2013, with an archive date of May 16, 2013.
Eligibility was aimed at institutions with established public research missions and infrastructure tied to agricultural science. Applications could be submitted by State agricultural experiment stations, land grant colleges and universities, research foundations established by land grant institutions, colleges and universities receiving funds under the Act of October 10, 1962 (16 U.S.C. 582a et seq.), and accredited schools or colleges of veterinary medicine, specifically in support of facilitating or expanding ongoing state-federal food and agricultural research programs. In other words, the funding was positioned for entities that already operate within the national agricultural research framework and can carry out coordinated, multi-site work that supports pest management research and regulatory approval activities for specialty crop uses.
Overall, this IR-4 grant opportunity is best understood as an applied, outcomes-driven research and coordination program that helps translate pest management needs in specialty crop systems into usable, legally registered solutions. By underwriting the research and regulatory data generation that private companies often cannot justify for small-acreage or niche crops, the program helps protect specialty crop productivity, supports grower competitiveness, and broadens the availability of pest management tools in ways that align with safety and regulatory standards. For applicants, the emphasis is not just on conducting isolated research projects, but on building and operating a national and regional infrastructure that can consistently identify priority needs, run the necessary studies, compile defensible datasets, and work in concert with industry and regulators to get new tools across the finish line for minor crop producers.
Minor Crop Pest Management Program (IR-4) Grant FAQs
What is the Minor Crop Pest Management Program (IR-4) grant opportunity?
The Minor Crop Pest Management Program Interregional Research Project (IR-4) is a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) grant opportunity intended to close a long-standing gap in pest management options for minor and specialty crops by supporting the research, data generation, coordination, and registration work needed to make crop protection tools available for these crops.
What problem is IR-4 designed to solve for minor and specialty crops?
IR-4 exists because many minor and specialty crop markets are too small to justify private-sector investment in the research trials, residue and efficacy data, regulatory documentation, and registration activities required to bring pesticides and other pest management products to these crops. The program helps make that work economically and logistically feasible.
What is the central goal of the IR-4 program?
The central goal is to help ensure that growers of minor and specialty crops have access to safe, effective, and reasonably priced crop protection tools, including pesticides and other pest management products that might otherwise never be developed or registered for their use.
How does IR-4 function in practice?
In practical terms, IR-4 acts as a bridge that enables new pest management solutions to be evaluated and moved through the registration pipeline for crops that do not offer large commercial returns on their own. It supports coordinated research and regulatory data generation so products can be registered for specialty crop uses.
Which USDA agency is sponsoring this funding opportunity?
This opportunity is offered through the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
What are the identifying numbers for this funding opportunity?
The Funding Opportunity Number is USDA NIFA SRGP 004188. The CFDA number is 10.200 (Special Research Grants).
What type of grant is this?
It is a discretionary grant under CFDA 10.200, Special Research Grants, within the agriculture and environment activity areas.
How many awards did NIFA anticipate making for FY 2013?
For FY 2013, NIFA anticipated funding five projects total.
What is the intended structure of the FY 2013 awards?
The FY 2013 plan described one award intended to establish a national IR-4 headquarters and four awards intended to establish geographically based regional IR-4 centers.
What is the role of the national IR-4 headquarters compared to regional centers?
Based on the announcement, the national headquarters is intended to serve as a coordinating hub, while the regional centers are intended to conduct regionally based research, trials, and coordination. The overall design emphasizes aligning priorities and data needs across regions through an interregional, collaborative structure.
Why does the program emphasize interregional coordination?
The program is described as interregional and collaborative because developing and registering crop protection products requires coordinated planning, shared priorities, and consistent data generation across multiple geographies, along with effective communication among researchers, regulators, and industry registrants.
What kinds of partnerships does the IR-4 program depend on?
The announcement emphasized that success depends on coordinated partnerships among federal agencies, the crop protection industry, and land grant colleges and universities.
Why are federal agencies, industry, and universities all needed for IR-4 success?
Developing and registering crop protection products requires multiple kinds of expertise and capacity, including field and laboratory research, regulatory science to meet registration requirements (such as EPA-related requirements), and strong coordination and communication among public researchers, regulators, and industry registrants.
What types of work does IR-4 funding support?
As described, IR-4 supports applied, outcomes-driven research and coordination that can include field and laboratory studies to generate efficacy and residue data, regulatory data development, and the coordination and documentation needed to move pest management tools through the registration pipeline for minor and specialty crop uses.
Does the opportunity focus on isolated research projects or on broader infrastructure?
The description emphasizes building and operating national and regional infrastructure, not just conducting isolated research projects. The aim is to consistently identify priority needs, run necessary studies, compile defensible datasets, and work with industry and regulators to achieve legally registered solutions for minor crop producers.
What was the estimated total funding amount for this opportunity?
The estimated total funding amount listed was $11,000,000.
What is the award ceiling?
The award ceiling listed was $4,800,000.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity stated that cost sharing or matching funds were not required.
When was the opportunity posted?
The posted date was February 26, 2013.
What was the original closing date, and what was the revised/current closing date?
The original closing date was April 2, 2013. The revised/current closing date was April 16, 2013.
When was the archive date?
The archive date listed was May 16, 2013.
Who was eligible to apply for this IR-4 funding opportunity?
Eligible applicants included State agricultural experiment stations; land grant colleges and universities; research foundations established by land grant institutions; colleges and universities receiving funds under the Act of October 10, 1962 (16 U.S.C. 582a et seq.); and accredited schools or colleges of veterinary medicine, specifically in support of facilitating or expanding ongoing state-federal food and agricultural research programs.
What kind of institutional capacity does the eligibility language imply?
The eligibility list is oriented toward institutions with established public research missions and infrastructure tied to agricultural science, and those able to carry out coordinated, multi-site work supporting pest management research and regulatory approval activities for specialty crop uses.
What outcomes is the IR-4 program aiming to produce?
The program is described as helping translate pest management needs in specialty crop systems into usable, legally registered solutions by underwriting the research and regulatory data generation that would otherwise be difficult to fund for small-acreage or niche crops.
How does IR-4 benefit growers of specialty and minor crops?
By helping move pest management tools through evaluation and registration for specialty crop uses, IR-4 supports specialty crop productivity, grower competitiveness, and broader availability of pest management options aligned with safety and regulatory standards.
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