Call for Grant Applications – Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen AGriculturE Initiative
Application Deadline:
January 22, 2025
About Organisation
The Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen AGriculturE (AI-ENGAGE) Initiative is a collaborative effort led by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation of Australia (CSIRO). It aims to foster partnerships between research communities in the U.S., Japan, India, and Australia, working at the intersection of agriculture and emerging technologies. This initiative encourages the development of innovative solutions to empower farmers and enhance global agricultural productivity, sustainability, and resilience. The initiative focuses on key research areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, communications, and sensing technologies. By promoting collaboration across Quad countries, AI-ENGAGE seeks to create research networks that can quickly disseminate innovations and best practices, making a significant impact on global agriculture and the Indo-Pacific region. The program is designed to address critical challenges and opportunities in agriculture through cutting-edge technological research and international partnerships, with the ultimate goal of increasing yield and resilience in farming practices globally.
About the Grant
The AI-ENGAGE Grant supports collaborative research efforts across Quad countries—Australia, India, Japan, and the U.S.—to advance innovations in artificial intelligence, robotics, sensing, and communications for agricultural applications. This initiative aims to empower farmers by enhancing productivity, sustainability, and resilience. Research topics include AI-enabled crop planning, monitoring diseases and pests, robotics for farm efficiency, and data-driven risk management. By fostering cross-border partnerships, the grant encourages the exchange of ideas and best practices to address challenges in the agricultural sector. Proposals must involve researchers from at least three of the Quad countries, with projects spanning up to three years. This multilateral arrangement strengthens research collaboration and promotes impactful technological advances that benefit people, economies, and the environment. The initiative supports transformative research ideas that leverage international cooperation to achieve significant, long-term outcomes in the field of agriculture.
Who can Apply?
Researchers from at least three Quad countries (Australia, India, Japan, and the U.S.) are eligible to apply for the AI-ENGAGE initiative. Each research team must propose a collaborative project focused on AI, robotics, sensing, or communications with applications to agriculture. Proposals that involve researchers from all four Quad countries will be prioritized. In the U.S., proposals must be submitted by eligible U.S. organizations, and early career investigators are particularly encouraged to apply. The same proposal must be submitted by Indian applicants to ICAR, Japanese applicants to JST, and Australian applicants to CSIRO. In Japan, proposals without U.S. collaborators can be submitted to JST. All research teams must ensure that international collaboration is an integral part of their work and that researchers meet the eligibility criteria set by their respective countries. After the award, a Collaborative Research Agreement (CRA) must be signed by all participating research institutions.
How to Apply?
Submit proposals through the respective agencies (NSF, ICAR, JST, CSIRO) following their guidelines. Ensure international collaboration is highlighted and maintain uniformity across all submissions.
Application Deadline
Proposals from Indian researchers must be submitted to ICAR by January 22, 2025, 5:00 p.m. IST.
Last Date To Apply
For more information, please visit the grant website here.
