Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development  (BREAD)

BREAD Program Website

Please refer to the BREAD Program Website at http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503403 for updates and additional information regarding this solicitation.

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Solicitation  09-566

As announced on May 21st, proposers must prepare and submit proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF) using the NSF FastLane system at http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/. This approach is being taken to support efficient Grants.gov operations during this busy workload period and in response to OMB direction guidance issued March 9, 2009. NSF will continue to post information about available funding opportunities to Grants.gov FIND and will continue to collaborate with institutions who have invested in system-to-system submission functionality as their preferred proposal submission method. NSF remains committed to the long-standing goal of streamlined grants processing and plans to provide a web services interface for those institutions that want to use their existing grants management systems to directly submit proposals to NSF.

Please be advised that the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) includes revised guidelines to implement the mentoring provisions of the America COMPETES Act (ACA) (Pub. L. No. 110-69, Aug. 9, 2007.) As specified in the ACA, each proposal that requests funding to support postdoctoral researchers must include a description of the mentoring activities that will be provided for such individuals. Proposals that do not comply with this requirement will be returned without review (see the PAPP Guide Part I: Grant Proposal Guide Chapter II for further information about the implementation of this new requirement).

SYNOPSIS

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) are partnering to support a new research program to be administered by NSF. The objective of the BREAD Program is to support innovative scientific research designed to address key constraints to smallholder agriculture 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 and potential application to agriculture in the developing world. The BREAD Program will take the activities of the PGRP to the next level by supporting a broader range of scientific research and by enabling funding to be allocated to international collaborators through subawards.

The Program's focus is on novel, transformative research at the proof-of-concept stage rather than its application or development. 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 as 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.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development (BREAD) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (NSF 09-061)

Developing Country Collaborations in Plant Genome Research (Dear Colleague Letter) (NSF 04-563)

RELATED PROGRAMS

Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development

Plant Genome Research Program

RELATED URLS

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

National Plant Genome Initiative Five Year Plan (2009-2013)

Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (National Academy of Science, 2009)

IFDC - An International Center for Soil Fertility & Agricultural Development

InterAcademy Council - Publications

International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008 (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2008)

United Nations Millennium Development Goals

World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development (World Bank, 2007)

THIS PROGRAM IS PART OF

Opportunities that Highlight International Collaboration

Abstracts of Recent Awards Made Through This Program