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

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90 Grants found

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Digging deeper: Removing the barriers to soil compaction mitigation

Year Awarded  2020

FFAR award amount   $449,601

Total award amount   $588,961

Location   Pullman, WA

Matching Funders   Washington State University

Grantee Institution   Washington State University

Soil compaction diminishes soil health and damages soil ecosystems, leading to lower crop yield and decreased resilience in the face of climate change. Dr. Haly Neely’s research is mitigating soil compaction, which occurs when soil particles are pressed together making soil less healthy and resilient, by measuring and mapping compaction with a newly developed visible and near-infrared spectroscopy tool. Neely is linking these measurements to soil ecosystem components such as crop yield and using these findings to improve growers’ knowledge of soil compaction mitigation strategies.

Uncovering the Genetic Architecture of Inducible Chemical Defenses in Crop and Wild Sunflower for the Sustainable Control of Pests and Pathogens

Year Awarded  2020

Total award amount   $450,000

Location   Orlando, FL

Grantee Institution   University of Central Florida

Crops plants face a wide variety of threats from pests and pathogens, yet for many such threats there is no simple genetic source of full resistance in the plant immune system, necessitating growers’ reliance on pesticides. Dr. Chase Mason’s research is determining the genetic control of induced chemical defenses, a mechanism by which plants produce chemical compounds to protect themselves upon detecting harmful pests or pathogens. Mason is also identifying sources of enhanced forms of this protection in a variety of species to reduce reliance on pesticides.

Engineering crops for cultivation in controlled environments

Year Awarded  2020

FFAR award amount   $450,000

Total award amount   $481,123

Location   Riverside, CA

Matching Funders   University of California, Riverside

Grantee Institution   University of California, Riverside

Urban agriculture offers many benefits for food production but often has higher production costs relative to traditional farming and is limited to only a few crops. Dr. Robert Jinkerson’s research is engineering the size and nutritional value of a tomato plant variety to increase both the diversity and value of crops that are grown in vertical controlled environment agriculture, making urban agriculture more profitable.

Developing Novel Strategies for Improved Control and Sustainability of Grapevine Bunch Rot Management

Year Awarded  2020

Total award amount   $364,826

Location   College Park, MD

Grantee Institution   University of Maryland

Late-season bunch rots are fruit diseases that occur during maturation, after season-long expenses and labor, and directly affect yield and quality. Dr. Mengjun Hu’s research is advancing knowledge about late-season bunch rots by studying the prevalence and ability of the pathogen to cause disease, the conditions and time in the growing cycle favorable to the pathogen and the pathogen’s reactions to fungicide. The research is developing sustainable management strategies that promote targeted and less frequent application of fungicide.

Harnessing the soil microbiome to increase soil health and plant productivity

Year Awarded  2020

Total award amount   $450,000

Location   Seaside, CA

Grantee Institution   California State University, Monterey Bay

Soil-borne diseases pose a significant threat to global food production, causing catastrophic yield and economic losses. Dr. Jose Pablo (JP) Dundore-Arias’ research is determining the ecological and molecular mechanisms responsible for inducing and maintaining disease-suppressive soils. Dundore-Arias is using this information to develop microbial communities capable of enhancing soil health and plant productivity.

FFAR Fellows Program 2020 Cohort

Year Awarded  2020

Matching Funders   North Carolina State University

A unique three-year fellowship that prepares up to 48 graduate students to be the next generation of food and agriculture scientists by using an interdisciplinary approach to career readiness. Fellows work with university and industry representatives, as well as their peers, to conduct urgent research and engage in professional development.

Kirchner Food Fellowship 2020-21 Cohort

Year Awarded  2020

Location   Birmingham, AL & Washington, D.C.

Matching Funders   Kirchner Impact Foundation and the Kirchner Group

The Kirchner Fellowship HBCU cohort is part of a $1 million five-year collaboration between the Kirchner Impact Foundation and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research to increase diversity within the venture capital industry by training HBCU students to become agriculture technology venture capitalists. Kirchner HBCU fellows invest capital in early-stage food and agriculture companies applying ground-breaking technologies to provide sustainable solutions to address global food challenges.

FFAR Vet Fellows Inaugural Cohort

Year Awarded  2019

Total award amount   $10,000 per student

Location   Washington, D.C.

Matching Funders   American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC)

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) announced the 10 recipients of the 2019 Veterinary Student Research Fellowships (Vet Fellows) in partnership with the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). This fellowship creates opportunities for veterinary students to pursue research on global food security and sustainable animal production.

FFAR Fellows Program 2019 Cohort

Year Awarded  2019

Matching Funders   North Carolina State University

A unique three-year fellowship that prepares up to 48 graduate students to be the next generation of food and agriculture scientists by using an interdisciplinary approach to career readiness. Fellows work with university and industry representatives, as well as their peers, to conduct urgent research and engage in professional development.

Kirchner Food Fellowship 2019-20 Cohort

Year Awarded  2019

Location   Birmingham, AL & Washington, D.C.

Matching Funders   Kirchner Impact Foundation, North Carolina State University and the Kirchner Group

The Kirchner Food Fellowship, an initiative of the Kirchner Impact Foundation, is a program supporting young agriculture financiers. This cohort represents the second year of successful collaboration between the Kirchner Impact Foundation, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and North Carolina State University to prepare the fellows to make critical agriculture business investment decisions.