What is 'Specialty Crop Research Initiative' Which USDA Launched to Boost Agricultural Innovation?

The SCRI continues to drive scientific discoveries and innovations to address current and emerging challenges in speciality crop production. By promoting sustainable practices, technological advancements, and enhanced crop resilience, the initiative will play a crucial role in bolstering the agricultural industry and ensuring food security for the nation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has unveiled a groundbreaking competitive grants program, the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), designed to tackle agricultural challenges related to speciality crops. The initiative focuses on fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. Administered by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), SCRI aims to revolutionize agricultural research and extension projects by adopting a systems-based, trans-disciplinary approach.

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1. Overview of the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI)

The SCRI is a highly competitive grant program that encourages scientific research and innovative practices tailored to specific crops and regions. Its primary goal is to enhance crop production, improve processing, distribution, and marketing systems, and address critical issues faced by specialty crop producers.

2. Research Areas Supported by the SCRI

The SCRI supports several research focus areas to foster advancements in speciality crops:

a. Crop Improvement: Researchers will employ plant breeding, genetics, and genomics to develop new varieties of specialty crops with improved resistance to pests, diseases, and environmental stresses. The aim is to enhance nutritional content and overall crop quality.

b. Pests and Diseases: The program will fund research into developing effective pest control methods, identifying emerging and invasive pests, and safeguarding pollinators critical to crop health.

c. Production Efficiency, Productivity, and Profitability: Projects will focus on devising new production methods to optimize efficiency, including soil rhizosphere microbiome management, pesticide application systems, and storage systems to extend specialty crop shelf life.

d. New Innovations and Technologies: The SCRI seeks to accelerate the adoption of innovative technologies, such as delaying ripening, mechanization, automation, and precision agriculture, to increase crop resilience and manage resources effectively.

e. Food Safety: The program will promote research to prevent, detect, monitor, control, and respond to potential food safety hazards during the production, handling, and processing of speciality crops.

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3. Funding and Impact

Since its authorization in the 2008 Farm Bill, the SCRI has received mandatory funding from Congress. Over time, funding has progressively increased, currently standing at $80 million annually. SCRI grants have already yielded significant outcomes, improving crop yields and quality, reducing production costs, expanding market access, and protecting pollinators.

4. Recent SCRI-Funded Projects

Several recent projects funded by the SCRI have made substantial contributions to specialty crop research:

a. Plant Breeding and Genetics: Researchers developed computational tools for genomics-assisted breeding in polyploid crops, leading to cultivars with higher quality, productivity, and stress resilience.

b. New Technologies and Innovations: SCRI promoted collaborations to develop controlled environment propagation technologies for strawberries and AI-guided precision irrigation management programs to conserve water in turfgrass.

c. Citrus Disease Research: Prior to the establishment of a separate Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Development Trust Fund, SCRI provided funding for projects addressing citrus greening (HLB) to protect the citrus industry.