You may be aware of various pest and disease threats to our nation’s ag ecosystems and food security. Examples include:
“Lanternfly on the East Coast, new world screwworm. For example, there are a whole host of things that we have to be concerned about today.”
And National Institute of Food and Agriculture administrator Jaye Hamby says the need for rapid response to such threats is a reason behind a new NIFA-funded competitive grant program.
“The full name of the program is Rapid Response to Emerging and Re-emerging Pest and Disease Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems,” —a mouthful, the administrator acknowledges, but descriptive.
“Those invasive and emerging pests and diseases can devastate crops, livestock and, quite frankly, entire systems. We think about food supply systems that could be disrupted. For example, a new world screwworm. We can’t move cattle through the system as we once did, should it reach our borders. So, this opportunity empowers researchers, as well as extension professionals, to act quickly, delivering practical solutions, informed solutions that help safeguard our agricultural communities and, again, our nation’s food supply.”
Not just land-grant universities and cooperative extension entities can apply, but public and private partnerships as well.
“We want to involve the commodity groups, for example, and we may involve animal health companies, crop protection players — again, have a stake in this. So, when it comes to plant disease, plant health, etc., we want to make sure that it’s all hands-on deck, figuratively speaking, so that we can best address and engage. So not only do we have the power of extension, the power of the land-grant system, but we can also enable those private partnerships, as well, who also stay in frequent contact with our farmers and ranchers out there in the country.”
Also eligible for grants: community and youth development entities and 4-H, provided their applications align with program emphasis areas.
“Funded projects must focus on applied research and extension, as well as outreach activities that can generate what I’ll frame as knowledge and tools. Now I tend to think about it coming in four areas. First, rapid understanding of the pest and pathogen itself. The second component that dovetails nicely into that is what I would frame as the development and validation of the diagnostics, the vaccines and control methodology. Thirdly, communication strategies. And then finally, the technologies that we can put in place relative to detection, management and then further prevention down the line. Once we recognize that we have an issue, how can we prevent it from coming back or control methodologies along the way?”
Applications are accepted on a continuous basis within 180 days of a qualifying pest or disease event. Administrator Hamby adds:
“Well, it’s going to impact and can impact farms of all scale. We tend to see the most profound impact with some of these merging and re-emerging issues with those small- and mid-sized farms. So, we want to make sure that we engage on that front as well.”