Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program

Section 12605 of the 2018 Farm Bill (Pub. L. 115-334) also established the Citrus Trust Fund and provides $25 million, available until expended, for each of 2019 through 2023, to carry out the Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension (ECDRE) Program in section 412 of AREERA (7 U.S.C. 7632(j)). Extended by H.R. 6363, the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024. Funding is for a competitive research and extension grant program to combat diseases of citrus by conducting scientific research and extension activities, technical assistance and development activities to combat citrus diseases and pests, both domestic and invasive, which pose imminent harm to the U.S. citrus production and threaten industry viability. The ECDRE program also combats citrus diseases by supporting the dissemination and commercialization of relevant information, techniques, and technologies.

Applications may be submitted by Federal agencies, national laboratories, colleges and universities, research institutions and organizations, private organizations or corporations, State agricultural experiment stations, individuals, or groups consisting of two or more of these entities.

Applications are subjected to a system of peer and merit review in accordance with section 103 of the Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7613) by a panel of qualified scientists and other appropriate persons who are specialists in the field covered by the proposal. Within the limit of funds available for such purpose, the NIFA Authorized Departmental Officer (ADO) shall make grants to those responsible, eligible applicants whose applications are judged most meritorious under the procedures set forth in the NOFO. Reviewers will be selected based upon training and experience in relevant scientific, extension, or education fields, taking into account the following factors: (a) The level of relevant formal scientific, technical education, or extension experience of the individual, as well as the extent to which an individual is engaged in relevant research, education, or extension activities; (b) the need to include as reviewers experts from various areas of specialization within relevant scientific, education, or extension fields; (c) the need to include as reviewers other experts (e.g., producers, range or forest managers/operators, and consumers) who can assess relevance of the applications to targeted audiences and to program needs; (d) the need to include as reviewers experts from a variety of organizational types (e.g., colleges, universities, industry, state and Federal agencies, private profit and non-profit organizations) and geographic locations; (e) the need to maintain a balanced composition of reviewers with regard to minority and female representation and an equitable age distribution; and (f) the need to include reviewers who can judge the effective usefulness to producers and the general public of each application. Evaluation Criteria will be delineated in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).