Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FAS 10620 0762 10 23 0001
The 2023 Scientific Exchange Program (SEP) - African Animal Feed and Fertilizer Innovation is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) fellowship and exchange grant designed to strengthen agricultural research capacity, leadership, and trade-related collaboration between the United States and emerging market economies. The program uses short-term, intensive, hands-on training and research placements to help a new generation of agricultural scientists and policy professionals apply modern agricultural science and technology back home, with a broader goal of improving productivity, food security, and trade capacity. USDA also frames SEP as a practical market development tool: by building technical knowledge and relationships, the program can help reduce trade barriers and open markets over time, which can expand opportunities for U.S. agricultural exports.
A central feature of SEP is the cohort-based exchange model. Fellows, typically early- to mid-career professionals with at least a Masters degree, are selected from universities, government agencies, and research institutions in eligible countries. They travel to the United States for up to 12 weeks to work directly with U.S. scientists at a host academic institution. The host institution provides mentors who help organize and deliver a structured training and research experience. After the fellows return home, the program includes a follow-up component where mentors travel to the fellows home countries to reinforce learning, support implementation, and maintain the professional linkages created during the exchange. USDA/FAS also plays an active role in shaping eligible topics and countries (in consultation with U.S. embassies/consulates), and the agency handles key administrative elements tied to participation such as J-1 visa processing and SEVIS-related requirements.
For FY 2023, the opportunity is organized into two tracks. Track 1 is focused on African animal feed and fertilizer innovation, specifically targeting low- to middle-income African economies as defined by the World Bank. The intent is to address two closely connected constraints facing many smallholder farmers: limited access to high-quality animal feed and the need for more efficient, innovative fertilizer and nutrient management approaches. USDA highlights that Africas animal feed sector is often underdeveloped, and that better feed quality and availability can improve animal health and welfare, which then influences the safety and reliability of animal-source foods and strengthens overall food security. On the fertilizer side, the emphasis is on improving efficiency and next-generation production or management methods, paired with nutrient management and cropping practices that can reduce waste, improve yields, and help farmers make better strategic decisions in a fast-changing agricultural environment. Applicants are expected to design programming that shows how improved feeding systems and smarter fertilizer/nutrient practices together can reduce food insecurity, rather than treating these as isolated technical topics.
Track 1 also places heavy emphasis on running exchanges as cohesive regional cohorts rather than bringing fellows one at a time. USDA/FAS signals that awards should plan for multiple fellows per project who participate together geographically and thematically, enabling peer learning and long-term collaboration. Cohorts may include a mix of profiles, including policy/governance professionals alongside research and technical experts, with the idea that technical innovation is more likely to scale when policy, regulatory, and institutional realities are part of the conversation. The program also explicitly seeks to advance diversity, leadership development, and science communication, aiming to prepare fellows to explain evidence-based practices and advocate for sound policies to colleagues, decision-makers, and the public. Knowledge sharing is expected to continue after the U.S. visit, with fellows and host institutions encouraged to bring lessons back into university teaching, extension services, and engagement with stakeholders across the broader agricultural marketplace.
Track 2 shifts from a lab-and-host-institution exchange model to a conference-centered leadership and networking model tied to the 2023 World Food Prize and its Borlaug Dialogue in Des Moines, Iowa. Under this track, USDA/FAS seeks applicants to help support and coordinate participation for about 30 fellows and their mentors, in collaboration with FAS Global Programs Fellowship Programs staff. In addition to attending the Borlaug Dialogue, projects under this track are expected to organize workshops adjacent to the conference, including an all-day workshop (roughly 9am to 5pm) and a formal breakfast workshop (roughly 7:30am to 10am) featuring a USDA principal. The fellows attending may come from policy/governance and research/technical backgrounds and may cover a range of climate-smart agriculture topics. The purpose is to use the conference setting to accelerate professional connections, expose fellows to global-level food security leadership discussions, and stimulate collaboration on research and policy agendas that can influence leadership, international trade, food security outcomes, and economic growth in emerging economies.
In terms of who can apply and basic funding details, this is a discretionary USDA/FAS opportunity (CFDA 10.620) open to public/state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education that can serve as host institutions and program implementers. The funding opportunity number is USDA FAS 10620 0762 10 23 0001. The posting lists an award ceiling of $260,000 and anticipates making about five awards. The opportunity was created on April 5, 2023, with an original closing date of May 31, 2023.Apply for USDA FAS 10620 0762 10 23 0001
- The Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2023 Scientific Exchange Program – African Animal Feed and Fertilizer Innovation" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.620.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 05, 2023.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 31, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $260,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.
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