USDA/NIFA invests $7.5M for research on pests and beneficial species in agriculture and $6M for pollinator health research

NIFA recently invested $7.5 million in 15 grants for pests and beneficial species research to help develop improved strategies for promoting beneficial insects and microbes that have the potential to combat pests of agricultural crops.

Funded grants support research to better understand fundamental mechanisms that inform interactions between plants, pests, and beneficial species.

This research will lead to innovative, environmentally-sound strategies to manage agricultural pests and beneficial species.

NIFA recently also awarded 10 grants for Pollinator Health research to sustain healthy populations of pollinators, which are crucial to the nation’s food security and environmental health.

Pollinators play a vital role in the production of healthy crops for food, fiber, and other agricultural uses.

Pollinator health projects address the current problem of declining populations of managed and wild pollinators, such as bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, and bats.

These grants are a part of USDA-NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.