September 14

USDA has awarded $113 million in competitive research grants under the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems to more than 500 scientists and educators to find sciencebased solutions to critical emerging challenges in fields such as genomics, biotechnology, and natural resource management.

This initiative represents a new approach to funding the most critical research projects that affect not only the safety of the food supply but also the integrity of the environment and the future of the farm economy in a growing world population," said Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. "These 86 research projects will help make possible new uses for agricultural products; better natural resources management; and improved farm efficiency and profitability, particularly for small farms."

New Research projects funded include:

--$500,000 grant to fund research on new approaches to enhance market opportunities for smallvolume fruit and vegetable growers.

--$750,000 to develop, evaluate, and produce nutritionally enhanced carrots with unusual colors, and to test the commercial feasibility of this functional food.

--$2 million grant to create a web resource for researchers working in maize, sorghum, wheat, oats and barley to utilize the rich information stemming from the rice genome sequencing project.

--$4 million grant to understand the genetic basis of traits that distinguish domestic lettuce and sunflower plants from their wild counterparts and to potentially transfer desirable characteristics of wild plants to domestic plants.

Other grants will focus on reducing contamination of produce both in the field and after harvest and on developing new technologies for small fruit and nut farmers to enhance their international competitiveness.

Nearly 1,000 proposals were reviewed by farmers, consumer representatives, teachers, researchers, and USDA's Cooperative Extension Service specialists. A complete listing of funded projects is available at www.reeusda.gov/ifafs/