Scientific Cooperation and Research (10.961)
Program
10.961 Scientific Cooperation and Research
Federal Agency
FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Authorization
National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as amended, 7 U.S.C. 3291; Food Security Act of 1985, Public Law 99-198, as amended.
Program Number
10.961
Last Known Status
Active
Objectives
To promote international cooperation in research efforts that benefit U.S. food, agriculture and the environment through short term scientific exchanges and longer term collaborative research projects linking scientists in the U.S. and countries worldwide.
Types of Assistance
Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements); Direct Payments for Specified Use.
Uses and Use Restrictions
Funds may not be used to pay indirect costs, general communication, clerical and publication costs, tuition, expenses solely for conferences or sabbaticals, or salary for principal investigators. Funds may be used for direct costs of conducting approved activities such as research associates, travel, supplies and equipment.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicant Eligibility
U.S. institutions of higher learning, U.S. Federal or State agencies, and public/private nonprofit organizations whose primary purpose is scientific and agricultural research, including those located in U.S. territories. U.S. scientists may collaborate with an appropriate research institution in any country with which the United States has diplomatic relations. International Agricultural Research Centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) are considered foreign cooperating institutions.
Beneficiary Eligibility
U.S. institutions of higher learning, U.S. Federal or State agencies, and public/private nonprofit organizations whose primary purpose is scientific and agricultural research, including those located in U.S. territories. U.S. scientists may collaborate with an appropriate research institution in any country with which the United States has diplomatic relations. International Agricultural Research Centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) are considered foreign cooperating institutions.
Credentials/Documentation
Proposal selection criteria includes an assessment of the professional qualifications and competence of the proposal's principal investigators and the adequacy of the institutional resources related to the proposed scientific cooperation activity. This program is subject to the provisions of OMB Circular Nos. A-21 and A-122. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87.
Application and Award Process
Preapplication Coordination
None. Interested parties are encouraged to submit proposals using program guidelines available from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service's international Cooperation and Development Research and Scientific Exchanges Division. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372 and OMB Circular No. A-102.
Application Procedure
Formal Scientific Cooperation and Research Program proposals should be submitted to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service's International Cooperation and Development Research and Scientific Exchanges Division as outlined in the program guidelines which detail application procedures. Guidelines for the Scientific Cooperation and Research Program are available directly from the Foreign Agricultural Services's Research and Scientific Exchanges Division, USDA/FAS/ICD/RSED/SCRP, Mail Stop 1084, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-1084. Program guidelines are also on the internet through the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service's web site at http://www.fas.usda.gov/icd/grants/scrp.htm as well as from links at other sites concerning USDA funding programs. This program is subject to the provision of OMB Circular No. A-110. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102.
Award Procedure
Program staff members review and evaluate all proposals with the assistance and advice of peer panels of qualified U.S. scientists. Proposals are selected according to how well they meet criteria that includes scientific or technical merit of the proposed activity; suitability of the investigators and institutions; feasibility of achieving proposal objectives; relevance to priority issues in U.S. food, agriculture and the environment; and potential for furthering international cooperation. Proposals are funded to the extent permitted by available funds.
Deadlines
Annual deadlines for proposal submissions are generally in the fall or winter to be considered for funding the following spring. Consult current program guidelines for specific dates. For fiscal year 2003, proposal are due January 24, 2003.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
Appeals
Appeals: None.
Renewals
Renewals: None. Proposals for follow up activities to previously funded Scientific Cooperation and Research Program projects must compete with all other new proposals.
Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
Formula and Matching Requirements: For Research Collaboration Projects, participating U.S. institutions are expected to share a portion of project costs or arrange supplemental funding from other sources. For the U.S. - China Scientific and Technical Exchanges operated under a receiving side pays arrangement with the People's Republic of China, U.S. program participants are responsible for their international airfare.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Long-term research project agreements range from 1 to 3 years, with funds provided annually. Short-term exchange visits are limited to 2 to 4 weeks.
Post Assistance Requirements
Reports
Reports: Long-term research projects require technical annual progress and final research reports. Short-term exchange visits require trip reports. Financial reports are also required.
Audits
Audits: Audits and review are conducted periodically by representatives of the Office of Inspector general and Government Accounting Office. Accounts and records must be available for inspection or audit at any reasonable time. For short-term exchange visits, audits are not normally performed other than review of transportation/per diem expenses to ensure compliance with Federal Travel regulations. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-133.
Records
Records: Records must be maintained for not less than 3 years after completion or termination of the agreement.
Program Accomplishments
The Scientific Cooperation Research Program collaborated with a diverse group of U.S. institutions in research partnerships with 53 countries in FY 2002 to support the FAS mission of promoting food security and trade. Collaborative projects made practical use of biotechnology and other scientific techniques to help solve critical problems affecting food, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and the environment in both the United States and cooperating countries. Scientific cooperation leveraged resources and expertise, enhanced research efforts, and increased the technical capacity of scientists domestically and worldwide. Women led 28 percent of all joint international research projects and U.S. minority scientists led 23 percent of the total. Female and minority scientists used biotechnology to help improve food safety, market quality characteristics of agricultural products, prevent trade-related pests and diseases, and preserve valuable crop, forest, and livestock germplasm. Researchers and their international partners also used other tools while sharing skills and experiences in science on mutual food security, sustainable agriculture, natural resources management, and trade issues. Scientists at Texas A&M University collaborated with researchers in Mozambique's Universidade Eduardo Mondlane and the International Livestock Research Institute to identify much needed forage legumes suitable for use in southern U.S. pastures. Prairie View University, an historically black land grant institution in Texas, and the University of Zimbabwe conducted a scientific exchange on the agribusiness concerns of small and limited resource farmers, including the use and marketing of small ruminants for meat and other by-products. Scientists from Texas A&M University at Kingsville, an Hispanic Serving Institution, conducted collaborative research with Argentina on the multipurpose nitrogen fixing Prosopis trees which occur on some of the poorest soils in the United States. Prosopis can serve as a source of luxury quality timber for fine furniture, build soil fertility, provide pods for human and livestock food, and provide wood for flavoring food products. Researchers exceeded their objectives in a project to learn from growers and scientists in rural polar climates similar to Alaska for create a viable agricultural industry using indigenous and native berries and plants. Scientists at the Society of International Sustainable Development's Moose Creek Farm and at the Universities of Alaska and Wisconsin, and extensionists and farmers in Germany, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Norway and Chile, shared information and innovative techniques for production, processing and marketing lingonberries, the low-bush cranberries increasingly in demand throughout the world. Northern Arizona University collaborated with scientists in Mexico on research to conserve the unique ecosystems of high-elevation forest resources. This project helped provide information useful in management strategies such as fire suppression and harvesting of one of our most important forest species, the Douglas fir, at the southern-most extent of its range. Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet, Minnesota and Blackfeet Community College in Montana participated in a scientific exchange to China on sustainable agricultural practices. The American Indian team compared natural organic cropping techniques, the use of native edible plants, fisheries management and aquaculture projects, and soil and water conservation techniques. University of Missouri scientists collaborated on a joint research project with Mexico to develop a vaccine for bovine babesiosis. Together with anaplasmosis, this trade-related cattle disease accounts for an estimated $2 billion in livestock losses each year. Indirect export losses may be in the millions from potential buyers concerned about susceptibility of U.S. cattle sent to tropical and subtropical climates where babesiosis is endemic. Without vaccination in some form, life expectancy of exported cattle is one to three months. New Mexico State University, an Hispanic Serving Institution, collaborated with Mexican scientists on research assessing the impact of insecticide use on target and non-target natural enemies of cotton. Iowa State University researchers are working with extension workers to implement results of collaborative research with New Zealand to reduce the use of stored feed through grazing corn crop residues which could save cattle producers in Iowa alone over $140 million each year. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service and Agricultural Research Service continues collaborative research in Mongolia to collect forage germplasm for preservation and use in the U.S. Similar research in China led to the participation of American Indian Tribal Colleges in Montana in a scientific exchange with China which emphasized the use of indigenous and traditional plants in restoration ecology. The University of California teamed with Korea's Rural Economic Institute to identify likely effects of the reductions in trade barriers to US agricultural exports of high value products such as beef, citrus, almonds and walnuts to Korea.
Financial Information
Account Identification
12-3200-0-1-352.
Obligations
Obligations: (Cooperative Agreements and Direct Payments) FY 02 $2,500,000; FY 03 est $2,500,000; and FY 04 est $2,500,000.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
For research projects, up to a maximum total of $45,000 for a 3-year project. Partial support is available for short-term exchanges up to 4 weeks.
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
7 CFR 3015.
Related Programs
None.
Information Contacts
Regional or Local Office
None.
Headquarters Office
Carol Kramer-LeBlanc, Director, USDA/FAS/International Cooperation and Development, Research and Scientific Exchanges Division, Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250-1084. Telephone: (202) 690-4872.
Web Site Address
http://www.fas.usda.gov/icd/grants/scrp.htm
Examples of Funded Projects
Tuskegee University and scientists in West Africa are providing critical information for the use of sweet potato leaves, including increased production and enhanced economic returns to small-scale farmers. The University of Arkansas and Mexico's National Autonomous University are collaborating on alternative control strategies for Salmonella, a food-borne pathogen that continues to contaminate poultry products worldwide. Haskell Indian Nations University, an American Indian Tribal College, and Gorno-Altaisk State University in the Russian Federation of States are conducting joint research to assess the impact of traditional grazing practices on village drinking water quality. Grazing is the major agricultural activity in the southern part of the Altai Republic in Russia and on many tribal lands in the U.S. Scientists at the historically black University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff are conducting joint research with South African scientists to create an economically viable alternative opportunity for limited-resource farmers. Researchers are sharing germplasm of black eye peas, also known as cowpeas and southern peas, to enhance genetic variability. USDA researchers in Missouri are linked with scientists in Kenya using biotechnology to develop a new method to biologically control the Diamond Back Moth. Management costs for this major pest of crops in the cabbage family and other agricultural crops worldwide are estimated at $1 billion. The University of Hawaii is collaborating with researchers in the Netherlands using biotechnology to improve detection and identification methods, as well as standards for decision criteria for invasive seed-borne bacterial pathogens distributed worldwide on contaminated seed. Researchers are using bacterial canker of tomato, the most valuable vegetable crop in the U.S and the second most valuable crop worldwide, as a model. USDA researchers in Washington are collaborating with university scientists in Thailand to provide nutritionally enhanced food items including meat, poultry and fish products, and grain-based foods that would provide a unique series of U.S. food products for export. The research could also provide a renewable, essentially cost-free source of vitamin A available to regions suffering from vitamin A deficiency. To help prevent diabetes mellitus and heart disease in the U.S. and Asia, researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts are collaborating with Singapore scientists using biotechnology to determine the relationships between genetic variants, diet and disease. USDA scientists in Minnesota and researchers at the Institute of Tropical Agricultural Research in Nigeria are developing user-friendly software to help extension workers and farmers in the U.S. and other countries in successful and sustainable weed management. Scientists at North Carolina A&T State University, an historically black university, in partnership with Foreign Agricultural Service staff in China, are collaborating with Chinese trade economists and market specialists to provide research-based information on potential impediments which will help U.S. livestock exporters market their pork, beef and poultry products in the looming Chinese market. University of Vermont and Ireland's University College initiated collaborative research and education to help devise detection and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) strategies to keep the pathogen Listeria out of farmstead speciality cheese products and protect the free trade of these products through marketing microbiologically safe products. USDA researchers in Washington and scientists in Peru are collaborating to access potent antioxidant pigments and to conserve the valuable highly pigmented native Andean potato varieties in the field. Florida A&M University and the Bangladesh Agricultural University are collaborating to improve the food safety and protein content of peanutand other products using biotechnology. Researchers are introducing into legumes drought tolerance traits to help reduce aflatoxin contamination, aid in water management and reduce irrigation costs.
Criteria for Selecting Proposals
Within the guidelines established for the Scientific Cooperation and Research Program, proposals are evaluated on the overall scientific or technical merit of the proposed activity; suitability of the investigators and institutions; feasibility of achieving proposal objectives; relevance to priority issues in U.S. food, agriculture and the environment; and potential for furthering international cooperation.
