Crops: Improving food security and farmers' livelihoods through more productive and sustainable crops Grant
In context
This call is open to universities, research institutions and non-profits and 1 other, at idea and R&D stage and prototype and pilot stage. Funding is a grant. Coverage is read from the notice itself: Global-South, Asia and Africa and 2 others.
ACIAR funds research and development projects that improve crop productivity and sustainability to enhance food security and farmer livelihoods in developing countries. The grant targets agricultural innovation, particularly in crop improvement, with a focus on smallholder farmers in the Global South.
About this grant
The ACIAR Crops Program aims to increase the productivity and sustainability of major crops by exploring improved varieties and new crop management methods, with the goal of improving food security and farmers' livelihoods. The program is built on two complementary themes: genetics, and sustainable intensification and diversification. Genetics-theme projects address specific issues such as pests and diseases, build the capacity of plant breeding programs, and promote the release of improved germplasm, including identifying genes for important traits and introducing them into breeding lines. Sustainable intensification and diversification projects examine the productivity, profitability and resilience of whole cropping systems, designing, testing and disseminating cropping system innovations. The program responds to rural poverty, migration out of farming, and widening urban-rural income gaps. The page describes an active research program portfolio (FY 2025-26 investment of AUD 6.4 million across 18 projects) rather than an open call for applications, and does not state application procedures.
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Eligibility
The page describes commissioned research organisations, including CABI, CSIRO, Griffith University, the University of Melbourne, the University of Queensland, the University of Sydney, the University of Western Australia, Central Queensland University, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, the World Vegetable Center and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation. No open application eligibility criteria are stated on this page.
Key requirements
- ✓Focus on improving crop productivity and sustainability
- ✓Primary beneficiaries are smallholder farmers in developing countries
- ✓Research-led projects with clear food-security and livelihood outcomes
- ✓Likely requires partnership with institutions in target regions
Recent past awardees
Knowing who's won the last rounds tells you whether you're in the strike zone.
- African Agricultural Technology Foundation
- CABI
- Central Queensland University
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
- Griffith University
- International Center for Tropical Agriculture
- International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
- The University of Melbourne
Funder contact
The notice names a programme contact you can speak to before applying.
Frequently asked questions
- Who can apply for Crops: Improving food security and farmers' livelihoods through more productive and sustainable crops?
- Eligibility covers organisations in GLOBAL-SOUTH, ASIA, AFRICA, LATAM, OCEANIA; university, research-institution, nonprofit, consortium. See the eligibility criteria above for the full conditions.
Relevant sectors
About this sector
Food systems funding covers sustainable production, supply-chain resilience, food loss, nutrition and smallholder livelihoods. It is offered by agriculture and development agencies, multilateral programmes and foundations, often with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. Applicants are generally asked to show local partnerships and how benefits reach farmers or consumers.
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