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Agriculture & Food Research Initiative

The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the flagship competitive grant program for agricultural research.
The Agriculture Food and Research Initiative Coalition, which includes AAU, sent a letter to House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Leaders requesting they provide at least $600 million for AFRI in FY22 appropriations.
This table represents the current status of FY21 appropriations for AAU’s funding priorities at the Departments of Education, Energy, and Defense as well as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, AFRI, and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Coalition recommends: robust funding for AFRI in the president’s FY22 budget request; investments in research infrastructure; including food and agriculture research as a priority for the Office of Science and Technology Policy; and increasing the 302(b) funding allocation for Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittees.
The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Coalition, which includes AAU, today sent a letter to House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Leaders to urge them to include $435 million for AFRI in the final FY21 appropriations measure.
Congressional Agricultural Research Caucus co-chairs Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) sent a letter to House and Senate leaders requesting they include relief for USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture in any future pandemic aid package. According to the representatives, investments in our nation’s agricultural research represents a major return on investment that helps “assist producers, businesses, and local families while helping our nation maintain its competitive edge as the leader of global agricultural research.”
AAU and APLU joined with national, state, and regional stakeholders on a letter to congressional leaders thanking them for their ongoing efforts to combat COVID-19 and requesting that Congress continue to prioritize relief for the United States’ agricultural research, education, and extension programs.
AAU, along with 49 other organizations, sent a letter to Congressional appropriations leaders urging them to provide the highest possible FY21 funding for the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees to support USDA’s newly-announced goal of stimulating “innovation to substantially increase production while simultaneously cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture.”
AAU and 41 organizations joined the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Coalition in a March 20 letter to congressional agriculture appropriators to request they provide at least $480 million for the AFRI program in FY21.