Over $2M In Grants For US-Israel Agricultural Research Projects

By Ariel Grossman, NoCamels December 29, 2022 2 minutes

The new food and nutrition program was launched by the BARD (Binational Agricultural Research and Development) Fund. Courtesy Tom Fisk / Pexels

Over $2 million in grants have been given to research projects that are addressing agricultural challenges in the US and Israel.

The new food and nutrition program was launched by the BARD (Binational Agricultural Research and Development) Fund, a competitive funding program, as part of its strategy of increasing the engagement of academia and its breakthroughs with the private sector.

Eight grants with a sum of over $2 million (7.2 million NIS) were awarded to various research projects. This is the first round of funding in a five-year funding framework, whose scope is over $11 million (40 million NIS).

BARD (the Binational Agricultural Research and Development) has funded more than 1,400 research projects over the last 42 years, with a total investment of $340 million.

Projects that have been funded through the program have led to hundreds of new agricultural practices that have helped both the Israeli and US economies and agricultural communities grow.

The new program will run jointly with the Israeli Innovation Authority and support Israeli researchers who partner with Israeli companies that deal with food and nutrition, and collaborate with US scientists who were funded by the USDA-NIFA (National Institute of Food and Agriculture).

“Israel is one of the world leaders in food-tech innovation,” said Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority.

“Israel has many important relative advantages that stem from excellent multidisciplinary research, and scientists who work together with an advanced industry. Israel also has a world-renowned innovative culture with some of the best investigators in agriculture and biotechnology sciences.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

“The partnership with the American academia through this program will serve as a force multiplier. It will allow for innovative solutions that will serve the US and Israel, as well as the global market, in coping with challenges we face in food and nutrition.”

“The next call for proposal for 2023 is out. We encourage Israeli companies and investigators who are interested in working with academia partners in the US to apply and become valuable players in finding solutions to food and nutrition challenges.”

Prof. Yoram Kapulnik, CEO of BARD, said: “Investment in food and nutrition research and its development is crucial for both the US and Israel.

“This program gives us the opportunity to support the development of applicable topics. The partnership through joint R&D projects will give the commercial partner the opportunity to work with leading research scientists from the US and Israel.

“This is a new approach that will allow us to maximize the impact of the knowledge and research outputs, while accelerating food and nutrition innovation to commercial implementation.”

“This program is one of the initiatives taken by Israel and the US to find solutions for enhancing food security.”