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Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development (BREAD)

The advances made over the past decade of the Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) have led to the development of resources with potential benefit far beyond U.S. agriculture. The potential for international impacts was recognized from the beginning of PGRP, and its activities are coordinated through the National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI), which also includes the U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Energy, and U.S. Agency for International Development.

A variety of mechanisms are available to support the downstream applications derived from advances in science and technology to improve developing country agriculture. But there have been fewer funding opportunities to support development of cutting-edge and creative new approaches that extend from basic discovery to the needs of smallholder agriculture. New collaborations among a broad range of scientists and engineers are needed that lead to new ways of thinking about the major problems facing developing country agriculture.

The National Science Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are partnering to offer a new research program to foster these collaborations and the transformative research that will emerge from them. The goal of this new program, called Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development, or “BREAD,” is to build on the accomplishments of the NPGI, extending the opportunities to include international partners in efforts to generate innovative, science-based solutions to problems of smallholder agriculture in developing countries. Through new partnerships and projects, it is anticipated that BREAD will change parts of the research culture to one that is more broadly inclusive of these needs. BREAD provides the opportunity to engage international partners and for their activities to be funded.

BREAD is looking for new and fresh ideas—not extensions of ongoing basic research projects that could be supported by existing programs. BREAD is not just focused on plant genomics and, in fact, the scope of the program is quite broad: from research aimed at new ways to control parasitic plants to the development of nanoparticle-based approaches to fertilizers and more. Although the emphasis is on research that would be of downstream benefit, BREAD is not focused on translational or applied research. The program is looking for truly novel, basic research with the potential to address the needs of developing country farmers. The NSF urges you to bring your best ideas to BREAD. If you are not sure your project would be a good fit, you are invited to contact the program director, Deborah Delmer.

Click here for additional information about the BREAD Program, including the Program Solicitation.