(NAFB.com) – The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) launched a new competitive grants program to rapidly address emerging and re-emerging pest and disease threats across the nation’s food and agricultural systems. The grants program, titled “Rapid Response to Emerging and Re-Emerging Pest and Disease Events Across Food and Agricultural Systems,” is designed to deploy timely, science-based solutions to protect agricultural productivity, ecosystem health, and food security. “This program empowers researchers and Extension professionals to act quickly, delivering practical solutions that safeguard our agricultural communities and the nation’s food supply,” said Dr. Jaye Hamby, director of NIFA. Applications must directly address the effects associated with the emergence or re-emergence within the last 180 days of pests or diseases in animal or plant production systems or within the food supply. For information, visit nifa.usda.gov.