The American Institute of Biological Sciences has signed on to community letters supporting increased funding for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), as well as Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AgARDA) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
As USDA’s chief intramural research agency, ARS supports research across the full spectrum of food and agriculture at more than 90 research locations across the country. The ARS support letter, endorsed by 60 organizations, requests a total of $1.88 billion in funding for ARS in FY 2026.
“Sustained federal investment in food and agricultural research at ARS provides the foundation for a resilient domestic agricultural supply chain and ensures American farmers remain competitive in global markets,” the letter reads.
The second letter, signed by 75 organizations, requests an appropriation of no less than $500 million for the AFRI program, USDA’s flagship competitive grants program for fundamental and applied research, extension, and education in support of all topics across the food and agricultural enterprise.
“AFRI-funded research has been instrumental in developing solutions to combat emerging threats such as avian influenza, improving livestock and crop resilience to variable weather conditions, and supporting precision agriculture to increase efficiency and sustainability,” the groups argued.
The AgARDA support letter was signed by 40 organizations. It calls for an investment of $10 million in FY 2026 for AgARDA, which was established in the 2018 Farm Bill and modeled after successful advanced research agencies like DARPA and ARPA-E to foster research, development, and technology transfer resulting in significant benefits across the U.S. food and agriculture value chain.
“Emerging pest and disease pressures, like Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, and high farm input costs continue to impact producers across the country,” the AgARDA support letter reads. “Agricultural research can address these challenges, help producers thrive, and ensure consumers have access to affordable food… By providing AGARDA with sufficient funding, Congress can demonstrate its commitment to supporting agriculture as a cornerstone of our economy and a fundamental component of global food security.”
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