OpportunityTitle: Specialty Crop Research Initiative
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Applications may be submitted by Federal agencies, national laboratories, colleges and universities, research institutions and organizations, private organizations or corporations, State agricultural experiment stations, individuals, or groups consisting of 2 or more of these entities.
Description: The Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) was established to solve critical industry issues through research and extension activities. Specialty crops are defined as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. SCRI will give priority to projects that are multistate, multi-institutional, or trans-disciplinary; and include explicit mechanisms to communicate results to producers and the public. Projects must address at least one of five focus areas: research in plant breeding, genetics, and genomics to improve crop characteristics; efforts to identify and address threats from pests and diseases, including threats to specialty crop pollinators; efforts to improve production efficiency, productivity, and profitability over the long term; new innovations and technology, including improved mechanization and technologies that delay or inhibit ripening; and methods to prevent, detect, monitor, control, and respond to potential food safety hazards in the production and processing of specialty crops. Please Note: As of 2-4-2009 the RFA was updated to reflect a change in the &quot;notification of intent to submit&quot; deadline. The new date is March 2, 2009. See RFA for details
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Help Desk
GrantorContactText: CSREES Help Desk  &lt;br/&gt;Phone: 202-401-5048  &lt;br/&gt;Business hours are M-F, 7:00 am -5:00 pm ET. &lt;br/&gt;