Funding Opportunities

1. Rural & Urban Food Security Innovation (RFSI) — Automated Underground Garden to address community nutrition, food access, and family stability.

     — Up to $3,000,000

     — No cost-share required

     — Supports large-scale urban food security projects; perfect for scaling

     

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2. Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT) — Ideal for engaging youth and families in hands-on science, technology, and agriculture learning with automated indoor farming.

     — Up to $3,500,000 (large-scale public engagement projects)

     — No cost-share required

     — Supports informal STEM/STEAM learning;

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3. Urban, Indoor, and Emerging Agriculture (UIE)— Supports automated, cloud-controlled grow chambers and operational scale-up.

     — Up to $1,000,000

     — No cost-share required

     — Core funding for indoor/urban agriculture deployment;

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4. Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)— Supports research, innovation, and optimization of controlled-environment agriculture systems, including growing cassava or other crops.

     — $50,000–$500,000 depending on subprogram

     — May require partial cost-share depending on RFA

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5. Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (UAIP) — Useful for community-level implementations, pilot installations, and education/outreach at urban farming sites.

     — $100,000–$250,000

     — No cost-share required

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6. USDA NIFA SBIR/STTR — Small Business Innovation Research / Technology Transfer. For R&D and commercialization of patented automated grow chambers, including adaptation for crops like cassava. Can complement nonprofit deployment with scalable tech.

     — Phase I: $100,000–$175,000;

     — Phase II: ~$600,000

     — No cost-share required

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7. Urban Farming Innovation Grant — (Potential state/federal programs, e.g., DOE, USDA, or local urban-ag innovation funding) Example: [DOE SBIR / ARPA-E Urban Ag] or state equivalents. Can be used to enhance indoor growing, efficiency, or energy management of Automated Underground Garden. 

     — $250,000–$1,000,000 depending on program

     — May require cost-share depending on solicitation

     — Supports technology-driven urban farming innovation, automation, and sustainability;