20216702135344↗

** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** A GROWING WORLD POPULATION WILL INCREASE FOOD DEMAND WHILE AT THE SAME TIME AGRICULTURE FACES COMPLEX CHALLENGES RELATED TO LABOR WATER SCARCITY AND EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS. THE AGAID INSTITUTE WILL DEVELOP ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) SOLUTIONS TO HELP ADDRESS THESE PRESSING CHALLENGES AND SPUR THE NEXT AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION WITH THE USE OF AI. MORE SPECIFICALLY THE INSTITUTE WILL BUILD TOOLS AND WORKFLOWS TO HELP MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF LABOR COSTS AND SHORTAGES AND BETTER MANAGE REGIONAL RESOURCES SUCH AS WATER DESPITE VARIOUS UNCERTAINTIES. THE INSTITUTE WILL BRING MORE DATA AND SCIENCE-GUIDED INFORMATION TO THE FINGERTIPS OF AGRICULTURAL WORKERS TO HELP THEM MAKE BETTER DECISIONS.THE INSTITUTE WILL EMPHASIZE SOLUTIONS THAT CAN ADAPT TO CHANGING ENVIRONMENTS AND AMPLIFY PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH MORE EFFICIENT HUMAN AND MACHINE PARTNERSHIPS. MOST IMPORTANTLY HOWEVER THE INSTITUTE'S VISION WILL BE REALIZED BY MAKING AI ADOPTION ITS DISTINCTIVE FIRST PRINCIPLE. THIS MEANS THAT THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WILL USE THE TOOLS--THE FARMERS WORKERS AND MANAGERS--WILL BE DEEPLY INVOLVED THROUGHOUT ALL STAGES OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. THE GOAL IS TO ENSURE THE AI SOLUTIONS ARE PRACTICAL AND ADD VALUE MAKING THEM MORE LIKELY TO BE USED IN DYNAMIC REAL-WORLD SITUATIONS.EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ARE CENTRAL TO AGAID'S ACTIVITIES. RAISING AI SKILL LEVELS AND OPENING NEW CAREER PATHS WILL INCREASE COMPENSATION AND IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE WHILE ATTRACTING MORE PEOPLE TO AGRICULTURE AND COMPUTING PROFESSIONS. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH K-12 COLLEGE AND WORKFORCE TRAINING EFFORTS CARRIED OUT BY THE INSTITUTE'S MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CORE MEMBERS THAT INCLUDE EIGHT ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS AND TWO TECH COMPANIES AS WELL AS A RANGE OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR STAKEHOLDER GROUPS. THE INSTITUTE WILL WORK TO DEVELOP INTERACTIVE AI TOOLS AND INTUITIVE APPLICATIONS TO RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF AN EVOLVING WORKFORCE. BY INCREASING AI EDUCATION AND CLOSING SKILL GAPS THE INSTITUTE AIMS TO HELP TRANSFORM THIS CRITICAL LABOR FORCE AND CREATE NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMPUTING AND STEM MAJORS.AGAID INSTITUTE'S TEST CASES WILL INVOLVE SPECIALTY CROPS SUCH AS APPLES CHERRIES GRAPES AND NUT TREES SUCH AS ALMONDS AND PISTACHIOS THAT ARE GROWN NATIONWIDE AND PARTICULARLY IN THE WESTERN U.S. THESE CROPS POSE SEVERAL AGRICULTURAL GRAND CHALLENGES: THEY REQUIRE INTENSIVE LABOR NEED IRRIGATION AND ARE HEAVILY IMPACTED BY WEATHER EVENTS. SPECIALTY CROPS ALSO ACCOUNT FOR 87% OF THE U.S. AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE. ABOUT 40% OF THESE CROPS ARE PERENNIAL REQUIRING LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING. AI-BASED SOLUTIONS THAT OVERCOME THESE CHALLENGES FOR SPECIALTY CROPS WILL BE MORE READILY TRANSFERRABLE TO OTHER REGIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND GLOBALLY.IF SUCCESSFUL THE AGAID INSTITUTE'S WORK WILL LEAD DIRECTLY TO THE LAUNCH OF SEVERAL AI-POWERED SYSTEMS USED IN AGRICULTURE IN THE NEAR FUTURE. MORE IMPORTANTLY THE EXPERIENCE OF SUCCESSFULLY MOVING AI FROM THE LAB TO OPERATIONS WILL FORM A BLUEPRINT FOR RAPIDLY ADDRESSING NEW AGRICULTURAL CHALLENGES WITH AI. IN THIS WAY THE AGAID INSTITUTE WILL PROVIDE LONG-TERM LEADERSHIP IN GENERATING PRACTICAL REAL-WORLD SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS THE COMPLEX WEB OF CHALLENGES PRESENTED BY A GROWING POPULATION AND AN INCREASED DEMANDS ON NATURAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES.

Project Grant (B) · National Institute of Food and Agriculture · to Washington State University (UEI XRJSGX384TD6) · data as of 2026-09-30

Source: USAspending.gov prime award transactions and FSRS subaward reports, as loaded by SpendQuery (data as of 2026-09-30). Amounts are obligations (money committed), not outlays. The official record on USAspending.gov ↗