NSF and Quad partners launch AI-ENGAGE to encourage collaboration on emerging technologies and agriculture

The U.S. National Science Foundation, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization of Australia (CSIRO) signed a memorandum of cooperation on the Advancing Innovations for Empowering NextGen AGriculturE (AI-ENGAGE) Initiative, a collaboration celebrated at the Quad Leaders Summit hosted by President Joseph Biden on September 21in Wilmington, Delaware.

The AI-ENGAGE partnership aims to strengthen research collaboration among the Quad countries – the U.S., Japan, India and Australia -- to increase the impact of research in critical technologies on the people and economies of the Indo-Pacific region.

“NSF is proud to lead this research collaboration for global good, with partners from Australia, India and Japan,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. “These projects will result in new solutions, technologies, industries, and entrepreneurial ventures that will create a vibrant future for our farmers around the globe.”

For example, imagine a future in which farmers can use an app backed by inexpensive sensors, robotics, and artificial intelligence to get precise, real-time information on water, fertilizer, and pest control needs to maximize their crop’s resilience and yields.

The AI-ENGAGE Initiative provides a framework to encourage collaboration among Quad research communities working at the intersection of emerging technologies and agriculture to make that vision a reality. 

By 2050, the world's population is projected to increase to 9.7 billion people, with increases in food demand and pressure on land and water resources. The impacts of these trends will be strongly felt in the Indo-Pacific region, but so is the hope for meaningful solutions. 

To implement AI-ENGAGE, NSF, JST, ICAR and CSIRO invite joint, multilateral proposals from teams in which researchers reside in at least three of the Quad countries. Proposals involving researchers from all four countries are encouraged and will be prioritized for funding. Proposers from the Quad countries will collaborate to write a single proposal that will undergo a single review process managed by NSF, the coordinating agency.

For full details on the proposal process, please see: Dear Colleague Letter: Special Guidelines for Submitting Joint Proposals under the Quad AI-ENGAGE Collaborative Research Opportunity (nsf24132) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation.

Researchers are also encouraged to register for a webinar on October 9 at 10 PM EST, at which program staff will be available to answer their questions.