Sustainable Agriculture Research Initiative

Supporting research to initiate or accelerate the development of solutions that will be required for a sustainable, resilient and profitable agriculture sector in a net-zero economy. Further information on specific Research Objectives and Topics can be found at this link.

Eligibility
• Eligible Canadian university researchers must apply as part of a team with two or more eligible co-applicants, and the project must include at least one partner organization (from the private, public or not-for-profit sectors) whose cash contributions would have been recognized for cost sharing.
• Partner organizations are not required to contribute cash – NSERC and SSHRC will cover 100% of the project’s eligible costs – but they must have an active role throughout the project supported by in-kind contributions.
• Researchers are limited to one application as the applicant but can be a co-applicant or collaborator on more than one application.
• Early Career Researchers are encouraged to apply – applications led by ECRs will be assessed using the same evaluation criteria, but the merit indicators used for the assessment include provisions for cases where the applicant's experience in managing projects or mentoring trainees is nascent.

Funding
To facilitate partnerships and build successful multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral collaborations required to establish strong teams and relevant proposals, Preparatory Funds are available for this initiative - up to $50,000 can be requested to support application-related expenses. There are ~20 awards available. Teams do not need to apply for Preparatory Funds to apply for a Full Project.
Full projects request a minimum of 4 years, $500,000 to $2,000,000 per year.
Questions about this program may be directed to alliance_agriculture@nserc-crsng.gc.ca or Andrea.Craig@umanitoba.ca

All researchers must use the NSERC Online System to create and submit applications (both Preparatory and Full).