Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Current and Emerging Threats to Crops | 7200AA21RFA00011

Opportunity Information: Apply for 7200AA21RFA00011

The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Current and Emerging Threats to Crops (CETC) is a USAID funding opportunity focused on applied agricultural research that helps protect major food security crops from biotic threats such as pests, weeds, and plant diseases. The purpose is not just to generate research findings, but to translate those findings into real-world solutions that reduce crop losses for the people who are most vulnerable to food insecurity, especially smallholder farmers who depend on staple crops for both income and nutrition. The opportunity is positioned within USAID's Feed the Future initiative and is meant to function as a technical and partnership hub that can support multiple country contexts where crop threats are limiting national food systems.

This opportunity was released as a full Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) after a draft program description was shared in December 2020, signaling that USAID had already begun shaping the concept and inviting early engagement before the final competition. The application deadline was May 11, 2021. Prospective applicants were directed to submit questions by March 25, 2021 at 4:00 pm Washington, D.C. time, with questions going to Leah Leach at lleach@usaid.gov. The funding opportunity number is 7200AA21RFA00011, and the award instrument is a Cooperative Agreement, which typically means that USAID expects to remain actively involved during implementation rather than simply providing funds and stepping back. The total possible funding ceiling listed is $39,000,000, indicating a large-scale, multi-year program designed to support a broad research portfolio and substantial partnership and capacity-building activity.

At its core, the CETC Innovation Lab is expected to design, lead, and implement an applied research program aimed at controlling both current and emerging biotic threats. "Current" threats reflect persistent problems already affecting crops in many regions, while "emerging" threats point to issues that may be spreading to new geographies, intensifying because of climate and ecological shifts, or developing resistance to existing control methods. The emphasis on biotic threats places the program squarely in areas like integrated pest management, plant pathology, weed science, diagnostics and surveillance, resistance management, and systems that help farmers and institutions detect and respond to outbreaks faster. Because these threats often move quickly across borders and can escalate into regional crises, the Innovation Lab concept is designed to be responsive and relevant to real-time development needs rather than purely academic research.

A central feature of the opportunity is capacity development for local research partners. USAID signals that strong outcomes depend on strengthening national and local institutions, not simply delivering technical packages. In practice, that means the Innovation Lab is expected to invest in training, joint research, mentoring, infrastructure strengthening where appropriate, and long-term institutional partnerships that help national researchers, extension systems, and decision-makers build the ability to identify threats, test solutions, and scale effective practices. The intended beneficiaries extend beyond researchers to include smallholder farmers and other recipients of USAID assistance, reflecting USAID's broader development goal of improving livelihoods, resilience, and food security.

The CETC Innovation Lab is also framed as a resource for USAID Missions and their implementing partners. Missions often manage country-level strategies and fund on-the-ground projects, and they need credible, practical technical support when pests, diseases, or invasive weeds undermine production gains. This Innovation Lab is expected to help Missions overcome critical constraints within national food systems, including diagnosing problems, evaluating management options, and connecting research outputs to implementation channels. The program is therefore expected to operate at the intersection of research and development, where scientific work is deliberately aligned with the needs and timelines of programs operating in the field.

Another key expectation is that the Innovation Lab will help recognize, build on, and influence "impact pathways" that connect crop protection research to measurable development outcomes. In plain terms, USAID is emphasizing that good science is not enough by itself; the Innovation Lab should actively design partnerships and delivery mechanisms so that research results move into policy, private-sector products and services, community-based interventions, extension messages, and other channels that farmers actually use. The NOFO highlights collaboration with USAID Mission-supported programs, national partners, private companies, community-based organizations, and other donors. This signals a strong preference for a networked model where research is co-developed and co-owned, and where scaling and sustainability are considered from the start rather than treated as an afterthought.

In terms of eligibility and positioning, the opportunity references Title XII U.S. Universities, a category tied to USAID's longstanding engagement with U.S. higher education institutions in international agricultural development. While the eligibility field is listed as "Others," the explicit mention of Title XII indicates that U.S. universities with relevant expertise and global partnerships are a central target audience for leading the Innovation Lab, often through consortium-style arrangements that bring together multiple institutions and international collaborators. The activity categories listed for the award include Agriculture, Food and Nutrition, Science and Technology, and other Research and Development, underscoring that this is a research-driven award with clear development objectives.

Overall, this grant opportunity is designed to fund a major applied research platform that tackles pest, weed, and disease pressures threatening key food crops, while simultaneously strengthening the capacity of partner-country institutions and improving the ability of USAID Missions to respond to crop threat challenges. The scale of the funding ceiling, the cooperative agreement structure, and the strong emphasis on partnerships and impact pathways all point to a program intended to produce practical tools, strategies, and institutional capabilities that can reduce crop losses and protect food security over the long term.

• The Agency for International Development in the agriculture, food and nutrition, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Current and Emerging Threats to Crops" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-12-17.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-05-11. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $39,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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