Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI)

Specialty Crop Research Initiative

Supports specialty crop innovation in fruits, vegetables, and nuts through integrated grants for breeding, productivity, and safety.

The Specialty Crop Research Initiative, administered by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, provides up to $175 million per year for transdisciplinary integrated research and extension projects addressing the most critical challenges facing the U.S. specialty crop industry. Specialty crops covered include fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and horticulture — commodity crops are excluded. The program targets five focus areas: plant breeding, genetics, genomics, and methods to improve crop characteristics; pest and disease threats including pollinator threats; production efficiency, handling, processing, productivity, and profitability; new innovations, technology, mechanization, and ripening control; and food safety hazard prevention, detection, monitoring, control, and response.

For FY2026, the application deadline is 5:00 PM Eastern Time on June 15, 2026. FY2026 introduced a two-stage review process in which the first stage is an Industry Relevance Review, followed by a second-stage scientific and technical review. Projects must be transdisciplinary, intentionally integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines such as biology, social sciences, and economics, and must involve key stakeholders — including industry, grower, and community members — throughout the entire project lifecycle from concept development through implementation and dissemination. Award minimum and maximum amounts are not specified in publicly available materials; applicants should consult the FY2026 NOFO PDF for budget guidance.

Eligible applicants include land-grant institutions, state agricultural experiment stations, universities, colleges, research foundations, nonprofits, for-profit organizations, small businesses, and individuals who are U.S. citizens or nationals. Applications are submitted via Grants.gov. Competitive proposals for SCRI demonstrate clear relevance to the U.S. specialty crop industry, document a genuinely transdisciplinary team with embedded stakeholder engagement, and pass the Industry Relevance Review gate by showing that the proposed work addresses a priority challenge that industry stakeholders have affirmed is critical.