NIFA Invests $5.7M to Promote Healthy Pollinator Populations

The declining health of pollinator populations poses a serious risk to crops that depend on pollinators to produce marketable commodities and could ultimately impact the Nation's food security. Several factors are significantly impacting the health of pollinator populations. The Pollinator Health: Research and Application program area priority within the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative's Foundational and Applied Science program area supports projects focused on promoting healthy populations of pollinators in agricultural systems where reliance on pollinators for pollination services is increasing and where declines of pollinators is evident. This year's awards include one partnership project aimed at developing novel antiviral treatments for honey bees using naturally occurring fungi. Other awarded projects entail developing a pesticide risk assessment for managed Alfalfa leaf cutter bees, examining the role of pollen nutrition in managed bumble bee colony health, and employing RNA interference technology to combat Varroa mites.

2025 Awardees:

• Auburn University
• University of Florida (3)
• Middle Tennessee State University
• Penn State
• Utah State University
• Virginia Tech
• USDA Agricultural Research Service (2).