Alignment of Pesticide Regulations and Standards | USDA FAS 10960 0700 10 20 0029

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FAS 10960 0700 10 20 0029

The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service opportunity titled Alignment of Pesticide Regulations and Standards funds a multi-year effort to reduce trade friction and improve farmer access to safer pest management tools by bringing pesticide registration systems and maximum residue limit (MRL) setting more in line across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The core idea is to help foreign regulatory authorities strengthen their capacity and, where feasible, align their approaches with U.S. regulatory practices and with international standard-setting mechanisms such as Codex. USDA frames this as both a market access issue for U.S. agricultural exports and a practical on-the-ground issue for producers worldwide, since differences in residue standards, or the absence of standards in importing markets, can block trade even when pesticides are used legally and safely in the exporting country.

The program is designed around four connected pillars: registrations, standards (MRLs), compliance, and research. On the registration side, the work focuses on improving how countries evaluate and approve pesticide products by addressing registration formats, required data packages, and risk assessment methods, including both basic and advanced risk assessment. It also explicitly includes biopesticide registration and encourages tools like crop grouping and the recognition or mutual acceptance of efficacy and related data, which can lower duplicative burdens and speed responsible access to lower-risk products. On the standards side, the emphasis is on practical pathways for MRL adoption, including the use of import tolerances and the adoption of Codex MRLs when appropriate, supported by the residue data needed to justify those standards. On the compliance side, the program targets monitoring and testing capacity, such as sampling systems for domestic markets and imports and laboratory diagnostics, so that regulatory systems can verify compliance and build confidence in enforcement. Finally, the research pillar supports residue studies and other pesticide-focused research that can feed directly into national and international MRL decisions.

A major deliverable is a coordinated, strategy-led implementation model. The recipient is expected to build and manage a cadre of roughly 8 to 10 technical and regulatory experts who can identify where alignment is most needed, prioritize issues, and translate those priorities into short- and long-term action plans with realistic timelines. Those experts then lead the hands-on work: convening and running workshops, facilitating technical discussions with foreign counterparts, providing education and extension-style training in regulatory science to agricultural specialists, and supporting the creation or updating of domestic and international residue standards. Because the work spans multiple regions and requires specialized knowledge, USDA anticipates that some expertise may come from outside the recipient organization and may need to be brought in through subcontracts or subawards. The recipient is also expected to coordinate closely with other implementing organizations, U.S. and foreign regulators, U.S. pesticide research programs, and industry groups such as agricultural associations and exporters to ensure the various pieces reinforce each other rather than operating in isolation.

The opportunity also highlights communications as a parallel workstream, recognizing that science-based pesticide regulation often faces public scrutiny. The program therefore supports development of pesticide communication strategies and practical tools for regulators and stakeholders (including grower groups, exporters, and parts of the private sector) to help them explain and defend evidence-based decisions and maintain confidence in food safety. This may include trainings, printed guidance, and other outreach materials aimed at improving public engagement and responses to NGO or consumer concerns.

Research collaboration is tied closely to the United States IR-4 program, which generates pesticide residue data that supports registrations and tolerance setting, especially for specialty and minor crops. USDA notes that IR-4 has a track record of working with international partners to produce data that can underpin Codex MRLs, and it references the newer Minor Use Foundation as an added platform for international collaboration. Under this grant, the recipient is expected to identify ways to expand and strengthen these residue data partnerships so that more MRLs can be established or updated within Codex, EPA processes, and foreign national systems when justified. In practical terms, that means helping countries and researchers coordinate study designs, data generation, and data acceptance so standards can be set more consistently and trade disruptions from mismatched MRLs can be reduced.

Administratively, the award is a discretionary USDA program under CFDA 10.960 (Technical Agricultural Assistance). Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education. The funding opportunity number is USDA FAS 10960 0700 10 20 0029. USDA anticipated a single award with an award ceiling of $813,000 for an expected project period of about three years, with activities occurring across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The recipient is expected to play a central leadership and coalition-building role, leveraging internal capability, recruiting specialized external experts as needed, coordinating with parallel efforts funded elsewhere, and moving the overall alignment agenda forward as efficiently as possible to support science-based regulation and smoother agricultural trade.

• The Department of Agriculture, Technical Agricultural Assistance 10.960 in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Alignment of Pesticide Regulations and Standards" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.960.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 08, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 10, 2020 Application Post date 07/06/2020 Application Close Date 08/10/2020. (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 $813,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for USDA FAS 10960 0700 10 20 0029

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