[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 105 (Thursday, May 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24968-24969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11634]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Solicitation of Commodity Board Topics and Contribution of
Funding Under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive
Grants Program
AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of opportunity for commodity boards to submit topics and
contribute funding under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative
Competitive Grants Program.
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SUMMARY: NIFA is soliciting topics from eligible commodity board
entities (Federal and State- level commodity boards, as defined below)
that the entities are willing to co-fund equally with NIFA. To be
considered for inclusion in future Agriculture and Food Research
Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program Requests for Applications
(RFAs), topics must relate to the established priority areas of AFRI.
Commodity boards are those entities established under a commodity
promotion law, as such term is defined under the Federal Agriculture
Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, or a State commodity board or other
equivalent State entity. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this Notice under the heading ``Eligibility for Submitting Topics'' for
further information.
If, after NIFA's evaluation, proposed topics are accepted for
inclusion, they will be incorporated into AFRI competitive grants
program RFAs. As a condition of funding grants pertaining to a topic,
NIFA will require an agreement with the commodity board to provide
funds equal to the amount NIFA is contributing under the agreed upon
topic.
This Notice invites topic submissions from commodity boards as
defined above, outlines the process NIFA will use to evaluate the
appropriateness of these topics for inclusion in AFRI RFAs, and
describes the commitment required of commodity boards for NIFA to
jointly fund competitively selected AFRI awards within a topic area
submitted by the commodity boards.
DATES: Commodity boards may submit topics at any time; however, all
topics received by 5:00 p.m. EDT on July 30, 2018 will be considered
for the fiscal year 2019 AFRI RFAs. Topics submitted by eligible
commodity board entities after this date are not guaranteed review for
fiscal year 2019, but will be considered for RFAs to be issued in
future years. Frequently asked questions about commodity board topics
are available on the NIFA Website (https://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards-frequently-asked-questions).
ADDRESSES: You may submit topics by the following method: Website:
https://nifa.usda.gov/webform/commodity-board-topic-submission/
Instructions: The topic submission must be through the website form;
emailed topics will not be accepted.
Required fields are marked. Topics submitted through this form will
not be posted to a public site.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Mirando; Phone: (202) 401-4336,
or Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose
This Notice begins the fourth topic submission cycle to implement
section 2(b)(4)(F) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research
Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157(b)(4)(F)), as added by section 7404 of the
Agricultural Act of 2014, Public Law 113-79, which requires NIFA to
``establish procedures, including timelines, under which an entity
established under a commodity promotion law (as such term is defined
under section 501(a) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform
Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7401(a))) or a State commodity board (or other
equivalent State entity) may directly submit to [NIFA] for
consideration proposals for requests for applications'' within the AFRI
Program.
Stakeholder feedback gathered in previous years informed this
Notice and the process NIFA is using to implement section 7404. This
Notice invites entities established under a commodity promotion law or
State commodity boards (or other equivalent State entities) to submit
topics they are proposing for inclusion in fiscal year 2019 AFRI RFAs.
Topics must relate to the established AFRI priority areas, which were
authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill and described in 7 CFR 3430.309 as:
Plant health and production and plant products; animal health and
production and animal products; food safety, nutrition, and health;
bioenergy, natural resources, and environment; agriculture systems and
technology; and agriculture economics and rural communities. The AFRI
priorities are subject to change based on future Farm Bills, and any
changes will be reflected on the NIFA website. A summary statement on
AFRI is included below. To learn more about AFRI programs, including
program priorities, typical award budget amounts, and examples of RFAs,
please visit: http://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/.
AFRI Program Overview
The AFRI program is the largest agricultural competitive grants
program in the United States and a primary funding source for research,
education, and extension projects that bring practical solutions to
some of today's most critical societal challenges. AFRI programs impact
all components of agriculture, including farm and ranch efficiency and
profitability, bioenergy, forestry, aquaculture, rural communities,
human nutrition, food safety, biotechnology, and genetic improvement of
plants and animals.
In FY 2019, NIFA plans to solicit applications for AFRI funding
opportunities in the AFRI priority areas authorized in the Farm Bill
and described in 7 CFR 3430.309. It is anticipated these will include
the AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Program RFA and the AFRI
Education and Workforce Development RFA. The annual AFRI Foundational
and Applied Science Program RFA solicits grant applications focused
predominately, but not exclusively, on fundamental scientific research
addressing statutory priorities. The AFRI Education and Workforce
Development RFA solicits grant applications for training K-14 teachers
and administrators,
[[Page 24969]]
undergraduate research and extension experiential learning fellowships,
and pre- and post-doctoral fellowships. Any additional AFRI RFAs made
available in FY 2019 may be included in this solicitation.
Eligibility for Submitting Topics
Eligible commodity board entities are those established under a
commodity promotion law, as such term is defined under 7 U.S.C.
7401(a), or a State commodity board (or other equivalent State entity).
Language in 7 U.S.C. 7401(a) defines a ``commodity promotion law'' as
``a Federal law that provides for the establishment and operation of a
promotion program regarding an agricultural commodity that includes a
combination of promotion, research, industry information, or consumer
information activities, is funded by mandatory assessments on producers
or processors, and is designed to maintain or expand markets and uses
for the commodity (as determined by the Secretary).'' 7 U.S.C. 7401(a)
includes a list of such Federal laws.
A current list of approved entities is maintained at (http://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/). Additionally, entities eligible to
submit topics include State commodity boards (or other equivalent State
entities). This includes commodity boards authorized by State law;
commodity boards that are not authorized by State law, but are
organized and operate within a State and meet the requirements of their
authorizing statute; and commodity boards that are authorized by a
State and operate within the State for commodities that have no Federal
program or oversight.
Topic Submission Guidance and Procedures
Topics may be submitted at any time and will be evaluated by NIFA
on an annual basis. However, to guarantee consideration for the
proposed fiscal year 2019 AFRI RFAs, topics must be received by 5:00
p.m. EDT on July 30, 2018.
Each topic proposed must be submitted using the online topic
submission form provided at: https://nifa.usda.gov/webform/commodity-board-topic-submission/. Commodity boards may propose support for
multiple awards for each topic proposed. For each topic the commodity
board proposes to support, the minimum amount contributed by the
commodity board must align with budget guidance for each AFRI area
(http://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/) and comply with the maximum
amount of $2.5 million allowed per topic. NIFA does not intend to match
funding from a single commodity board in excess of $10 million in any
year. Commodity boards should only submit topics that have a strong
economic impact on their industry and U.S. agriculture, as a whole.
Examples of topics typically supported by AFRI can be found at http://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/.
If topics are accepted for funding, they will be incorporated into
AFRI RFAs, and grants supporting the topic area may be awarded to AFRI
eligible entities based on a competitive peer review process. As a
condition of funding grants in a topic, NIFA will require an agreement
by the commodity board to provide funds in an amount equal to the
amount NIFA is contributing under the agreed upon topic. If a topic is
selected for inclusion in an RFA, the commodity board submitting the
topic will be required to maintain the confidentiality of the topic
until the RFA is issued by NIFA. All commodity board funds and NIFA
funds must be available at the time projects are selected for funding;
awards are fully funded at the beginning of the award. Applications
submitted under topics provided by commodity boards will be required to
include a letter of support for co-funding from the the commodity board
that proposed the topic.
Evaluation and Notification Process
NIFA will screen proposed research topics to ensure eligibility of
the submitting commodity boards. NIFA will also consult with USDA's
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to determine that submissions and
proposed financial contributions are consistent with commodity
promotion laws and commodity boards' charters, as applicable.
Commodity board topics are reviewed by an internal panel based on
evaluation criteria developed using stakeholder input from commodity
boards and other stakeholders from government, industry, and academe.
Each topic will be evaluated based on alignment with one or more of the
statutory AFRI priority areas (AFRI priority areas authorized in the
Farm Bill and described in 7 CFR 3430.309); alignment with the
President's budget proposal for NIFA, as identified in the Department
of Agriculture's annual budget submission; and alignment with the
priority areas in the AFRI RFAs to be released by NIFA during the
fiscal year for which the commodity board is proposing a topic for
funding (for example, within the AFRI Foundational and Applied Science
RFA, the AFRI Animal Health and Production and Animal Products'
``Animal Reproduction'' priority area).
From those topics received by 5:00 p.m. EDT on July 30, 2018, NIFA
will select the topic(s) that were evaluated favorably for inclusion in
the appropriate FY 2019 AFRI RFA. NIFA will notify commodity boards as
to whether their topics will be included by August 29, 2018. Based on
the evaluation, NIFA reserves the right to negotiate with commodity
boards should changes be required to accept topics and funding amounts.
Any changes to topics and funding amounts will be reviewed by USDA's
AMS to determine if such changes are consistent with applicable
commodity promotion laws.
NIFA will evaluate topics submitted after the July 30, 2018
deadline on an annual basis and notify commodity boards whether their
topics will be included in subsequent RFAs within two weeks following
the meeting of the internal evaluation panel, the date of which will be
published on NIFA's Commodity Boards web page at (http://nifa.usda.gov/commodity-boards/).
Done at Washington, DC, on May 21, 2018.
Thomas Shanower,
Acting Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2018-11634 Filed 5-30-18; 8:45 am]
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