For Information Only - Deadlines have passed
The Horticulture Innovation Lab is currently soliciting concept notes for research on integrated animal-horticulture systems. Selected research projects will be funded for up to $750,000 total, over a period of up to 3 years.
The deadline to apply with a concept note is 8 a.m. PDT, Monday, September 19, 2016.
Background: Often, both horticultural crops and animals are owned by smallholder farmers, with varying degrees of integration. Several potential synergies between horticulture and animal production have been identified in research and development efforts, such as dietary diversity and resource-use efficiency. But comprehensive, regionally-specific, socioeconomic evaluations of these systems are lacking. Especially important are examinations of trade-offs in productivity, environmental impacts, and economic performance of integration at different scales. Investigating integrated systems in rural, urban, and peri-urban settings will provide applicable insight into the benefits and challenges of animal-horticulture production. Competitive concept notes will rigorously address the potential of these systems with regard to sustainable productive capacity, income generation, and gender dimensions.
The Horticulture Innovation Lab is specifically looking for research proposals that are relevant to, and appropriate for, smallholder farmers in any Feed the Future countries, particularly Cambodia, Nepal or Rwanda. Collaborative efforts with current USAID-funded projects and/or other Feed the Future Innovation Labs will be prioritized. We are interested in research that aims to improve livelihoods along the entire value chain. The research should result in useful recommendations for smallholder farmers.
Eligibility: The principal investigator on the project must be from a U.S. university, but should actively engage scientists and other partners in the proposed country. Successful teams will include multiple disciplines, including animal and horticulture experts as well as sociologists and economists.
Deadline: Concept notes must be submitted in our online form to the Horticulture Innovation Lab before 8 a.m. PDT, Monday, September 19, 2016. Please see the submission form for additional details: http://ucanr.edu/rfp/animal-horticulture-innovation.
Top submissions will be notified by October 10, 2016, with an invitation to submit a full proposal.
Blog announcement: Seeking insights into integrated animal-horticulture systems
Questions? Additional questions can be directed to Julia Jordan, jdjordan@ucdavis.edu.