NSF-BIO Announces the Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development (BREAD)

Program June 16, 2009

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced last week a research opportunity entitled “Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development” (BREAD). This program is supported jointly by NSF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). BREAD represents a new opportunity within the Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) for a broader engagement of researchers across disciplines and across international boundaries to form a new community of scientists who may not have worked together before. Prior participation in a PGRP or Developing Country Collaborations in Plant Genome Research (DCC-PGR) is not required to apply for funding through BREAD.

BREAD is part of the National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI), the overall goals of which are to support basic research in plant genomics and to accelerate the acquisition and utilization of new knowledge and innovative approaches to elucidating fundamental biological processes in plants. The focus of the NPGI is on plants of agricultural importance and plant processes of potential agronomic value.

Within that larger focus, the objective of BREAD is to support innovative scientific research designed to address key constraints faced by smallholder farmers in the developing world. A significant distinction between BREAD and other NSF programs is that proposals to BREAD must make a clear and well-defined connection between the outcomes of the proposed research and its direct relevance to and potential applications for smallholder agriculture in the developing world. The BREAD Program will take the activities of the PGRP to a new level by supporting a broader range of scientific research and by enabling funding to be allocated to international collaborators through subawards to institutions that are directly associated with educational or research activities.

BREAD’s focus is on novel, transformative research at the proof-of-concept stage rather than its full application or development on the ground. Especially encouraged are original proposals that address major constraints to the productivity of crops important to smallholder farmers, or on the development of novel and efficient production practices. Although the Program places an initial emphasis on crop improvement, it will also consider innovative research proposals from scientists in all fields of research and engineering, so long as the proposed research is consistent with the Program objectives. Proposals are also expected to address project outcomes in the context of broader societal impacts, and as appropriate to the research proposed, engage international partners in scientific collaborations.

The full text of the solicitation, which is available online, includes information about the ways in which BREAD deviates from the standard NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide. Non-binding letters of Intent are required by August 5, 2009, and full proposals are due by September 9, 2009.