WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2018 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced the availability of $3 million in funding for Alaska Native-Serving and Native Hawaiian-Serving (ANNH) Institutions. This grant is issued through NIFA’s ANNH Institutions Education Competitive Grants program.

The ANNH Institutions Education Competitive Grants Program promotes and strengthens the ability of ANNH Institutions to carry out education, applied research, and related community development programs within a broadly defined arena of food and agricultural sciences-related disciplines.

“NIFA is committed to training the next generation of agricultural scientists,” said NIFA Director Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy. “Through targeted funding, institutions are able to leverage partnerships with their regional networks and provide resources for engaging learners.”

This year, NIFA seeks applications that enhance educational equity for underrepresented students, strengthen institutional educational capacities, prepare students for careers related to the food, agricultural, natural resource and human (FANH) sciences, and maximize the development and use of resources to improve FANH education programs. Applicants can request standard and collaborative grants. New, renewal, resubmitted, and resubmitted renewal applications are accepted.

Applications must be received by Mar. 30, 2018. See the funding opportunity for additional information.

Previously funded projects include the University of Hawaii’s Agribusiness Education Training and Incubation Program (AETI), which provided business consulting services to agriculture-related businesses throughout the state for further development of the local agricultural and food production workforce. The AETI program provided consulting to 46 agribusinesses, collectively increasing their revenue by 49% and annual production acreage by 26%. The University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Drumbeats Consortium developed place-based subsistence science occupational endorsements, certificate programs, and associate of science degrees instrumental in improving the availability of math and science education throughout rural Alaska. The consortium reported 137 declared majors in the areas of environmental studies, sustainable energy, science, ethnobotany, and the high latitude range management certificate program.

NIFA’s mission is to invest in and advance agricultural research, education, and extension to solve societal challenges. NIFA’s investments in transformative science directly support the long-term prosperity and global preeminence of U.S. agriculture. To learn more about NIFA’s impact on agricultural science, visit https://nifa.usda.gov/impacts, sign up for email updates or follow us on Twitter @usda_NIFA, #NIFAimpacts.

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