Resident Instruction Grants for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas Agriculture and Food Science Facilities and Equipment Program for Insular Areas
Grant Opportunity Analysis
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture is offering a Fiscal Year 2026 grant program under Assistance Listing 10.308 to strengthen resident instruction and agriculture and food science education and research capacity in insular areas. The program supports RIIA and AGFEI activities, including educational capacity building and upgrades to facilities and equipment for tropical and subtropical agricultural research. Eligibility is limited to accredited higher education institutions in the specified insular areas, with AGFEI awards reserved for land-grant colleges and universities; applications are screened for administrative completeness and then reviewed through scientific peer review, and indirect costs are capped at 30% of total federal funds awarded. The program provides approximately $2.8 million in total funding, and applications are due June 15, 2026.
Eligible Applicants
Eligibility Requirements a. Individual Institutions 1. For the purposes of the RIIA program, an eligible institution is an institution of higher education, as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1995 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)); is located in an insular area; and has a demonstrable capacity to carry out teaching and Extension/outreach programs in the food and agricultural sciences. All public or nonprofit 2-year and 4-year accredited institutions of higher education that offer certificate/degree programs in the food and agricultural sciences are eligible. 2. For the purposes of the AGFEI program, only individual Land-grant Colleges and Universities, and other institutions that have secured Land-grant status through Federal legislation, and which are located in insular areas, are eligible for awards under this NOFO as individual applicants. The eight insular areas are: 1. American Samoa 2. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 3. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 4. The Federated States of Micronesia 5. Guam 6. The Republic of the Marshall Islands 7. The Republic of Palau 8. The United States Virgin Islands b. Branch Institutions of a Territory University System —For the purposes of the RIIA and AGFEI programs, the individual branches of a territory university system that are separately accredited as degree-granting institutions are treated as separate, individual institutions eligible to apply for and receive awards, provided they otherwise satisfy the definition of “eligible institution” as specified above. c. Independent Branch Campuses —Independent branch campuses of individual institutions may apply for and receive grant awards under this program, provided that they otherwise satisfy the definition of “eligible institution” as specified above.