Washington, DC (June 25, 2024) — As the United States and the Netherlands transition into more sustainable food production systems aligned with the U.N. sustainable development goals, investments are increasing to make the agricultural sector more sustainable. 

Part of these investments include Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and the Dutch Research Council (NWO) are launching the Greenhouses in Transition program to understand how to create a more sustainable CEA sector as other connected sectors increase sustainability.

“For CEA to become more environmentally sustainable, required resource allocation across the food-energy-water nexus must consider the competition for land, water, nutrients and energy across industries and society while minimizing its environmental footprint,” said FFAR Scientific Program Director Dr. John Reich. “We have to consider the social complexity of how systems are interconnected and the competition of resources within and across systems.”

FFAR and NWO’s Greenhouses in Transition program is funding a new transdisciplinary collaboration team that jointly develops and executes research addressing the CEA transition to a more sustainable food system while accounting for technology and future resource availability.

An estimated $5,866,886 is available for CEA research in the U.S. and Netherlands. The program is currently accepting research applications from researchers in the U.S. and Netherlands working collaboratively to consider diverse technological innovations — and the ecological, societal and economic aspects — to transition CEA across the food-energy-water nexus. These aspects can relate to technological innovations, societal dynamics, urban planning, governance and decision-making challenges.

Sub-proposals are due on October 29, 2024, by 2:00 p.m. EDT, and full proposals are due on June 5, 2025, by 2:00 p.m. EDT. Program details, application requirements and deadlines are available on the Greenhouses in Transition webpage.

FFAR and NWO are hosting an informational webinar on July 9, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. EDT. Attendees must register in advance to attend.

Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) builds public-private partnerships to fund bold research addressing big food and agriculture challenges. FFAR was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to increase public agriculture research investments, fill knowledge gaps and complement the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s research agenda. FFAR’s model matches federal funding from Congress with private funding, delivering a powerful return on taxpayer investment. Through collaboration and partnerships, FFAR advances actionable science benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment.

Connect: @FoundationFAR

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