FFAR & Syngenta Foundation seek applications for global climate-smart practices assessment

Climate change is likely to cause considerable declines in crop yields, with the most detrimental losses affecting smallholder farmers in developing countries. The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) are requesting research proposals that increase climate-smart agriculture in India, Kenya and Bangladesh. This request for proposals is part of AgMission, a partnership formed by FFAR, U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action and World Farmers’ Organisation to develop and implement climate-smart farming solutions.

Climate-smart agriculture is a farming approach that increases agricultural productivity, adapts crops and livestock to grow in changing climates and mitigates greenhouse gas emissions. A variety of climate-smart agriculture farming practices and technologies exist; however, adoption of these practices among smallholder farmers is low, particularly in developing countries.

Barriers to smallholder adoption of climate-smart agriculture include poor access, limited knowledge, inability to take risks, weak financing mechanisms and lack of rapidly attractive value propositions. Yuan Zhou,head of Agricultural Policy at SFSA

National policies and regulations, like subsidies and public incentives for technology uptake, can increase use of critical climate-smart agriculture practices. Yet, there is currently poor coordination between climate-smart agriculture policies and public institutions, and lack of knowledge about what incentives can help change farmer behavior.

FFAR and SFSA invite institutions to submit a proposal to provide analyses that increase understanding of the climate-smart agriculture policy ecosystem and implementation across India, Kenya and Bangladesh. This request seeks information on key climate-smart agriculture trends and country-specific case studies on incentive mechanisms and their effectiveness in these countries.

The total award amount for a proposal is up to $300,000, and multiple awards may be granted. Applicants are not required to secure matching funds for this opportunity. The application deadline for this proposal is November 3, 2021. Full details on this opportunity including how to apply are available on FFAR’s website.

“We need to develop better incentivization strategies to ensure farmers across the globe understand and have access to climate-smart agriculture technology and are adopting these practices on their farms,” said Dr. LaKisha Odom, scientific program director of FFAR’s Soil Health Challenge Area. “We are thrilled to partner with SFSA to fund research that supports the adoption of climate-smart agriculture and positions agriculture as a leading force in tackling greenhouse gas emissions.”

“We are very happy to join forces with FFAR on this important research,” said Zhou. “We expect that the knowledge, insights and evidence generated will contribute to informing policy-making and better design of future climate-smart agriculture solutions in the developing world.”

FFAR and SFSA are accepting applications from all institutions of higher education, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, government-affiliated researchers and domestic and international organizations.

Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) builds public-private partnerships to fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to increase public agriculture research investments, fill knowledge gaps and complement USDA’s research agenda. FFAR’s model matches federal funding from Congress with private funding, delivering a powerful return on taxpayer investment. Through collaboration and partnerships, FFAR advances actionable science benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment.