Matching Funds

We build public-private partnerships to leverage public funding and support pioneering research.

Lean more about the importance of public-private partnerships >
We build public-private partnerships to leverage public funding and support pioneering research.

Lean more about the importance of public-private partnerships >

We were created in 2014 by Congress to build public-private partnerships that fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges. Our public-private partnership model brings private investment to public agriculture research.

Congress provides public funding through the Farm Bill. The law requires that we match every dollar of public funding with at least one dollar from a private source.

Nonfederal institutions match or exceed our funding on a grant or project to amplify our investment in food and agriculture research. For example, if a proposal is awarded a $200,000 grant, FFAR funds $100,000 and the grantee or a third-party must provide a minimum of $100,000 to match our investment.

Increasingly, our nonfederal partners provide considerably more private funding to a project, well beyond the amount we allocated. These additional funds, beyond the 1:1 match, allow us to invest in new projects without securing a match. We also use the additional funds to invest in a more diverse pool of researchers at a wider range of universities.