Long arm of tractor sprays fertilizer on. Rows of young corn. Long arm of tractor sprays fertilizer on. Rows of young corn.

FFAR-OCP Disruptive Fertilizer Technology Fellowship Program

Open Opportunity

Contact

Dr. LaKisha Odom
lodom@foundationfar.org

Grants Team
grants@foundationfar.org


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Applications due January 29, 2025

About the FFAR-OCP Disruptive Fertilizer Technology Fellowship

Fertilizers are an essential input to produce healthy, high-yielding crops; however, plants may not absorb all the fertilizer applied, and excess fertilizer can produce harmful environmental consequences. Farmers need improved fertilizer technologies and guidance to improve soil and plant health, crop productivity and environmental resilience.

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and OCP North America (OCPNA), a subsidiary of the global plant-nutrition company OCP Group, created the FFAR-OCP Disruptive Fertilizer Technology Fellowship (FFAR-OCP Fellowship) to provide early-career scientists with opportunities to advance research on precision fertilizer application methods, nutrient recommendation methods and guidance on land applications of animal waste to customize and enhance fertilizer efficiency. Ultimately, the FFAR-OCP Fellowship intends to deliver new innovations in fertilizer products that are safe, effective, commercially scalable and easily understood by farmers. The FFAR-OCP Fellowship is a two-year program supported by $250,000 from both FFAR and OCP North America for a total program fund of $500,000.

Each awardee may receive up to $75,000 in funding, and applicants are not required to secure additional funds.

Application Guidelines

Who can apply?

The FFAR OCP Fellowship will provide stipend support for up to five early career scientists (within up to ten years of receiving a Ph.D.) and seeks to enable high impact research in the focus areas of the project.

The FFAR OCP Fellows Program will not support brand new research proposals without any prior history of research progress.

What is the funding availability?

Awardees will receive a maximum of $75,000 and will cover 12 to 24 months of funding to conduct projects in fertilizer efficiency research and technology development that have already demonstrated promise in a first phase of research and would clearly benefit from a catalytic push to achieve proof of concept or early product development to progress to a second phase.

Are matching funds required?

Matching funds are not required for this program.

How can I apply?

Applications must be submitted through FFAR’s online Grant Management System. Applications not submitted through this portal will not be considered eligible for evaluation. To be fair to all our applicants, FFAR will not grant an extension to applicants who missed the deadlines posted in the Key Dates section.

To start a new application, please click here. If you are a new user, register for an account by clicking the “Create Account” button located under the email address field on the left side of the home page. Once you log in, you may begin working on your application. Please be sure to save your work often by clicking on “Save and Finish Later”. To access a saved application, please do so through your Grant Management Account.

Who can I contact for more information?

FFAR and OCP are hosting an informational webinar about the request for applications at noon EST on December 11, 2024; registration for the webinar is required. This webinar is intended to answer applicant questions

FFAR only accepts scientific or programmatic, and grants inquiries by email. We strive to respond to inquiries within two business days, but our response time depends on the volume of questions we receive and the complexity of the questions asked. Please note that we do not monitor this mailbox on evenings, weekends, or federal holidays. All Scientific and Grants Questions Contact should be emailed to grants@foundationfar.org