Description
This program is integrated in both BARD’s plan to feature Climate-Smart Agriculture and Israeli Ministry of Agriculture’s office of the Chief Scientist’s focus on climate-smart aquaculture for dry climates and support desert farming. The implementation of this program is contingent upon the timely formal approval of funding by the Israeli governmental authority.
Priorities
The The program aims to enhance food security and production of quality protein through investment in research and development that will promote land-based aquaculture systems and desert farming. The program will fund studies that promote the understanding of biological and ecological systems related to fish, algae, and seafood. It will support investment in the advancement of fish diversity and quality.
Conducted research will aid the conservation and protection of Israel and US sea and aquatic resources.
It will also support desert farming research focused on management of agricultural production under desert conditions, with the overall objective of promoting sustainable and climate-smart agriculture.
Eligibility
Affiliates of public or private non-profit research institutions that demonstrate the necessary research and development capabilities are eligible for funding. Proposals must be submitted through such legally constituted institutions. The proposal must be a joint proposal between an Israeli scientist and a US scientist. (As BARD has received additional funding for this program, the requirement to have a USDA,NIFA funded scientist has been dropped. The submission process and evaluation is identical to the standard BARD submission).
Concurrent Funding
Researchers with current BARD funding are eligible to apply. We will not accept proposals for enhancing existing research projects. We will not consider currently submitted proposals to the general BARD research program nor for proposals that overlap with currently funded BARD research grants.
Funding Level
Both Standard tract grants ($310,000) and Pioneer tract grants ($600,000) for a 3 year proposal will be accepted.
Application Submission:
The deadline for submission is September 16, 2024, to prepare a full proposal which includes the following (see the general BARD Guidelines for Research Proposals p.5-7 for specific instructions regarding the content of the proposal):
Application Review and Award Selection:
The criteria used to evaluate the proposals are:
· Scientific Merit
· Relevance to Climate-Smart Agriculture – Aquaculture or Desert Farming
· Probability of Success
· Quality of Collaboration
· Relevance to Israeli Aquaculture/desert farming stakeholders