The Research Facilities Act Program (RFAP), administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), provides financial assistance for the construction, alteration, acquisition, modernization, renovation, or remodeling of agricultural research facilities. The program supports research in the fields of food and agricultural sciences.

Overview

RFAP is listed under Assistance Listing number 10.246. The program aims to support qualifying institutions in developing infrastructure necessary for conducting research in food and agricultural sciences. This is a discretionary grant opportunity with a total program funding amount of $121,127,200. NIFA expects to make approximately 30 awards.

Funding and Benefits

• Program Funding: $121,127,200
• Expected Awards: 30
• Award Minimum: $100,000
• Award Maximum: $30,000,000
• Funding Instrument Type: Grant
• Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No

Eligibility

Applications may be submitted by the following types of institutions:

• 1994 Land-Grant Institutions
• State Agricultural Experiment Stations
• 1862 Land-Grant Institutions
• Accredited school or college of veterinary medicine or State Agricultural Experiment Station that conducts animal health and disease research in accordance with section 1433(c) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977
• 1890 Land-Grant Institutions
• Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) as defined in 7 U.S.C. 3103
• Non-Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture (NLGCA) satisfying the eligibility requirements for NLGCA designation
• Insular Area Institutions – Institution of higher education, as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1995
• Institutions eligible for the "McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Act"
• Other entities eligible to receive funds under a capacity and infrastructure program

An eligible institution may not submit more than one application as a lead institution. Eligible recipients may only receive funds for one award at a time; recipients with active RFAP awards are not eligible to receive additional RFAP awards. USDA will not accept applications for dangerous gain-of-function research as defined in Section 8 of E.O. 14292. Institutions that have received congressionally directed funding for research facility projects are not excluded from participation and may submit applications for additional projects under this competitive opportunity.

Deadline and Timeline

• Closing Date: July 24, 2026
• Posted Date: June 15, 2026
• Archive Date: August 16, 2026
• Last Updated: June 30, 2026

Contact Information

For questions about preparing application content, contact NIFA Support via email at grantapplicationquestions@usda.gov. Business hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, except federal holidays.

Additional information is available on the Research Facilities Act Program page. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov.