The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is a

U.S. federal government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 ...

body whose creation was mandated in the

Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (, also known as the 2008 U.S. Farm Bill) was a $288 billion, five-year agricultural policy bill that was passed into law by the United States Congress on June 18, 2008. The bill was a continuation ...

. Its purpose is to consolidate all federally funded

agricultural research Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...

, and it is subordinate to the Department of Agriculture. It replaced the

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) was an extension agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), part of the executive branch of the federal government. The 1994 Department Reorganization Act, ...

in 2009. , Dionne Toombs has served as the Acting Director. The mission of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is to stimulate and fund the research and technological innovations that will enhance American agriculture and make it more productive and environmentally sustainable while ensuring the economic viability of agriculture and production. The Institute was developed as a result of a task force chaired by

William Henry Danforth William Henry Danforth II (April 10, 1926 – September 16, 2020) was a physician, professor of medicine, academic administrator, and philanthropist. He was chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis from 1971 until 1995. He was the grandso ...

and appointed by then-

Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organi ...

Ann Veneman Ann Margaret Veneman (born June 29, 1949) is an American attorney who served as the fifth executive director of UNICEF from 2005 to 2010. She previously served as the 27th United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2001 to 2005, and was the firs ...

. The Danforth Task Force recommended that

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

authorize the creation of NIFA as a way to strengthen agriculture research and to attract additional highly competitive research scientists to this field of endeavor. A growing program in competitive research grants will be a hallmark of the new agency. The creation of NIFA strengthened USDA's competitive research portfolio by replacing the National Research Initiative with the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. NIFA awards research funding through a combination of competitive grants and funds allocated to states under statutory formulas.

References

External links

*
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
in the

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...

Research and Education Activities
account on

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Extension Activities
account on USAspending.gov
Integrated Activities
account on USAspending.gov United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural organizations based in the United States {{Agriculture-org-stub

See also

References

External links