Associate Professor and IPM Coordinator Florida A&M University Tallahassee, Florida
Each federal agency with competitive grants office has its own specific procedures for evaluation of grant proposals. Since its inception on 18th June 2008, the USDA, NIFA has created more than 80 different programs which offer around $2 billion per year to support its mission. The mission of the agency is to invest in and advance agricultural research, education, and extension to solve societal challenges. The funding for entomological research has been steadily increasing every year. Overall, there are 112 academic institutions of higher education which are direct beneficiary of these extramural funds. These include 1862 Land-Grant Universities (57), 1890 Land-Grant Universities (19) and 1994 Land-Grant Universities (36). The strong collaborations of entomology experts in these institutions bring a great depth of knowledge, skill sets and abilities on pest and beneficial insect species and their management. This engagement further supports intradisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaborative work nationwide and abroad. Indeed, the resources brought from USDA, NIFA programs improve and enhance the missions of Land-Grant Universities in supporting the stakeholders and clientele. Also, this supports tremendously the professional and career building process of the scientists, academic and extension faculty. Many States have begun to address the need of supporting collaborative team projects on insects. As a result, funding has been appropriated for developing and advancing research centers focused on specific applied research. This overview highlights the successes and challenges of developing and implementing strong collaborative projects of entomological importance under the USDA, NIFA Programs.
