Awarded Grants
Below is a listing of our awarded grants that tackle big food and agriculture challenges.

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59 Grants found

An International Collaboration for Combating Fusarium Wilt in Cotton

Field trial of rice gene-edited rice for drought tolerance

Elucidating the genetic basis for sub-tropical flowering in hemp

Breeding and Characterizing New Cultivars of Grain and Fiber Hemp

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Plant-XR: A New Generation of Breeding Tools for Extra-Resilient Crops

Fast Tracking Climate Solutions from Global Germplasm Banks

Accelerating Genetic Gains in Maize & Wheat for Improved Livelihoods

Harnessing Translational Research Across a Global Wheat Improvement Network for Climate Resilience

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Assessment of the Available Literature and Gap Analysis on the Use of Industrial Hemp as an Animal Feed

FFAR Grant Promotes Sorghum Health Benefits

Genomic foundation for neodomestication and breeding of a halophytic grain crop, Distichlis palmeri

Enabling African Scientists: The African Plant Breeding Academy CRISPR Course

High dimensional phenomics and automation to transform cost and timeframe of early stage domestication of wild plants

Creating Science-Based Strategies for Gene Editing Communications

Scalable breeding for plant growth to address the challenges of climate change

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Improving Protein Content & Quality in Peas

Scaling Crops for Sustainable Water Management: Building Supply Chains

Capitalizing on the Unique Viscoelastic Properties of Corn Zein for A New Commercial Plant-Based Protein

A Multi-Scale Approach to Unearth the Root of Plant Disease Resistance

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Rapid Response to Coffee Leaf Rust

Breeding drought & heat tolerant wheat

Leveraging landrace genomics to rapidly engineer thermotolerant cassava

Using novel genes from wild germplasm to boost protein content in cultivated chickpea

Genetic and microbial determinants of nitrogen fixation in a Sierra Mixe landrace of maize

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Genome Editing Wheat for Durable & Sustainable Disease Resistance

Accelerated Development of Crops of the Future

National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food & Agriculture Research: Zachary Lippman

Metagenomic Probes for the Rapid Identification of the Microbiome Community in A Wheat Rhizospheremodel System

Improving the Nutritional Quality of Tomatoes

Stopping A New Threat to The Lettuce Industry in Florida: Fusarium Wilt

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FFAR Grant Promotes Sorghum Health Benefits

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $846,991

Total award amount   $1,721,129

Location   Clemson, SC

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Clemson University and Carolina Seed Systems, Inc.

(FFAR) is providing a $846,991 Seeding Solutions grant to Clemson University to study sorghum plant properties that enhance beneficial compounds in commercial sorghum, while preserving the crop’s dual use as animal feed.

Genomic foundation for neodomestication and breeding of a halophytic grain crop, Distichlis palmeri

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $985,000

Total award amount   $1,984,237

Location   Thuwal, Saudi Arabia

Matching Funders   King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Grantee Institution   King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

Climate change, rising sea levels and depleting freshwater reserves are causing a rapid increase in soil salinization, meaning higher levels of salt in the ground. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology researchers are assessing the domestication potential of Distichlis palmeri (D. palmeri), a saltwater-loving plant found in the tidal plains around the Gulf of California in Mexico and consumed by Indigenous peoples, which would help transition salt-degraded lands into productive, sustainable agriculture ecosystems.

Enabling African Scientists: The African Plant Breeding Academy CRISPR Course

Year Awarded  2022

FFAR award amount   $1,000,000

Total award amount   $1,999,998

Location   Davis, CA

Matching Funders   Bayer Crop Sciences, Syngenta Seeds, LLC

While Africa is abundant with crops, African farmers need crop breeding tools and training to be self-sustainable and achieve nutritional security. To advance crop breeding and mobilize innovation for regional crops, the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) to create and deliver a CRISPR Course on gene editing through UC Davis’ African Plant Breeding Academy. The Course is training 80 African scientists to develop improved regional crop varieties with the characteristics required for successful crop production and nutrition.

High protein aquatic plants for controlled environment indoor farms

Year Awarded  2021

Total award amount   $1,500,000

Location   Cold Springs Harbor, NY

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory; Crop One Holdings, Inc.

Plant-based protein is a low-carbon, accessible option to diversify dietary intake. Most of the plant-based proteins on the market today are produced from seed-based crops such as soy and nuts, which are often deficient in one or more key amino acids. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, in partnership with Crop One Holdings, is adapting high-protein, amino-acid rich aquatic Lemnaceae plants for controlled environments to improve nutritional value and increase production.

More Beans (MB): A Next Generation Legume for Healthy Urban Food

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $338,039

Total award amount   $676,095

Location   Nashville, TN

Matching Funders   Agricenter International, Bush Brothers & Company, Caney Forks LLC, Corteva Agriscience, Tennessee State University

Mung bean is an underutilized pulse in the United States that can add to crop diversity. Mung bean has health, economic and environmental advantages and is suitable to the climate conditions of the Southeast. Tennessee State University researchers are optimizing mung bean genetics and cultivation techniques for growth in the Southeast and promote its consumption, especially among people of color and low-income individuals.

High dimensional phenomics and automation to transform cost and timeframe of early stage domestication of wild plants

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $999,957

Total award amount   $2,543,829

Location   St. Louis, MO

Program   Seeding Solutions

Matching Funders   The Danforth Center, Danforth Center Field Research Site at Planthaven Farms, The Land Institute, Perennial Agriculture Project and Saint Louis University

To ensure a plentiful food supply in the face of future climate-related challenges, scientists must diversify food crops by domesticating new species. Early farmers domesticated many annual plant species, those planted yearly, in part due to their quick growing cycles; however, these crops require agricultural practices that can harm the soil. Perennial crops, which live for multiple years, offer a more sustainable option. The challenge is that successfully and rapidly domesticating promising perennial crops relies on genetic screening of seeds, an expensive and time-consuming process. This grant is accelerating the development of perennial crops. The researchers are predicting breeding success based on the seedlings’ physical attributes.

Improving Protein Content & Quality in Peas

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $612,257

Total award amount   $800,000

Location   St. Paul, MN

Program   Plant Protein Enhancement Project

Matching Funders   Benson Hill, Keygene, Syngenta, University of Minnesota

Plant protein is an important part of the global diet, but there are barriers limiting plant protein’s potential. Some amino acids, which are essential to diets, are missing or less abundant in plant protein. Also, a popular plant protein, soy, is an allergen for many. One alternative to soy is pea protein, but its nutritional value lags soy. University of Minnesota researchers are studying pea protein, develop methods for screening peas with superior protein nutrition and quality and breed these traits to cultivated peas.

FFAR and Alliance for Science Expand Gene Editing Communications

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $189,794

Total award amount   $760,271

Location   Ithaca, NY

Matching Funders   Cornell Alliance for Science

FFAR invests in a range of research technologies, including projects that use biotechnology and gene editing to make agriculture more sustainable, protect biodiversity and ensure that the world has sufficient food to feed a growing population. Through this award, the Alliance for Science, a global communications initiative, is amplifying FFAR-funded research and programs.

CRISPR-Combo Allows Gene Editing and Culture Regeneration

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $664,000

Total award amount   $739,000

Location   College Park, MD

Program   Accelerated Crop Breeding

Matching Funders   BASF

While gene editing technology has improved crop breeding and adaptation, the process of regrowing a plant from edited cells is costly, lengthy and unpredictable. Many popular crops are difficult to regenerate with existing methods. Researchers at the University of Maryland are developing a CRISPR-Combo system that will use CRISPR gene editing technology to kick-start the regeneration process.

Scaling Crops for Sustainable Water Management: Building Supply Chains

Year Awarded  2021

FFAR award amount   $1,997,454

Total award amount   $3,997,423

Location   Minneapolis, MN

Matching Funders   Agriculture Utilization Research Institute, Cargill, Friends of the Mississippi River, Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, McKnight Foundation, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, NORI, The Land Institute, Walton Family Foundation

Summer crops such as wheat, rice, and corn can be profitable for farmers, but post-harvest farmland is unproductive for several months during the off-season. Fallow land can accumulate a variety of water-related challenges, including soil nutrient loss and erosion and precipitation runoff. However, continuous living cover crops can prevent these challenges and maintain land in the off-seasons. The University of Minnesota is developing models for sustainable supply chains that create markets for crops farmers can grow between seasons.