June 2, 2016—Atlanta--The National Peanut Board, in coordination with the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Foundational Program and USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), announces a call for research grant applications that seek breakthroughs to improve food allergy diagnostic methods, and also discoveries that lead to increased efficiency in water usage for peanuts.
National Peanut Board is allocating $250,000, with matching funds from NIFA for a total of $500,000, toward research to improve peanut and food allergy diagnostic methods. NPB is allocating an additional $150,000, with matching funds from NIFA for a total of $300,000, towards research in drought tolerance and efficient use of water resources in peanuts.
The funding through AFRI was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and is in addition to National Peanut Board’s ongoing and annually-budgeted production research projects, which to date amounts to more than $25 million in allocations.
“This funding helps accelerate solutions for two critical areas in the peanut industry—peanut allergies and drought tolerance,” said Bob Parker, president and CEO of National Peanut Board. “We remain committed to improving the lives of those with food and peanut allergies and a key component of that commitment is ensuring people have clear, accurate and affordable diagnostic tools. Less dependence on water resources through improved drought tolerance of peanut cultivars or through more efficient use of water will not only help farmers financially, but will reduce the environmental footprint of peanuts.”
Improved Peanut and Food Allergy Diagnostic Method Topic (Funding total $500,000).
Currently, the “gold standard” of diagnosis, the clinical food challenge, is many times avoided because of risk, lack of clinical resources, cost, and insurance coverage issues. Therefore, many people are incorrectly diagnosed with food allergy through the most commonly used methods, such as skin-prick tests and IgE blood tests. NPB will sponsor an innovative and ground-breaking research project that develops a diagnostic method that is definitive, accurate and safe for the allergic individual.
Drought Tolerance and Efficient Use of Water Resources in Peanuts Topic (Funding total $300,000).
Peanut producers need innovative methods of mitigating loss of revenue through decreased yield or quality due to drought or inefficent use of water. The NPB-sponsored project will find ways to reduce the amount of water necessary to produce peanuts, develop a more drought tolerant peanut variety or develop efficient agronomic methods that decrease the amount of water used in peanut production.
Call for Request for Applications (RFAs) -- Application deadline July 14, 2016
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Applicants interested in these topics are encouraged to learn more about these grant opportunities at AFRI Request for Applications and contact DeMarquiné Wilson, Manager, IT & Compliance, National Peanut Board (678-424-5757 or dhwilson@nationalpeanutboard.org) to discuss their applications.
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A letter of support from National Peanut Board is required for the project to be considered for funding. Deadline for the letter of support is 60 days after the application deadline.
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Application deadline July 14, 2016
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Eligible applicants for Research Projects include: 1) State Agricultural Experiment Station; 2) colleges and universities (including junior colleges offering associate degrees or higher); 3) university research foundations; 4) other research institutions and organizations; 5) Federal agencies, 6) national laboratories; 7) private organizations or corporations; 8) individuals who are U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents; and 9) any group consisting of 2 or more entities identified in 1) through 8). Eligible institutions do not include foreign and international organizations.
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Only electronic applications may be submitted via Grants.gov to NIFA in response to this RFA. We urge you to submit early to the Grants.gov system. For an overview of the Grants.gov application process, see http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.