Opportunity Information: Apply for USAID RFI SOYBEAN
USAID's Bureau for Resilience and Food Security released this opportunity as a Request for Information (RFI), not a funding announcement, to gather ideas that will shape the next phase of its work on soybean research and value chain development in sub-Saharan Africa. Issued on February 16, 2021, with responses due March 2, 2021 at 12:00 pm EDT, the RFI is part of USAID's market research to inform a follow-on activity to the existing Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Soybean Value Chain. The agency is explicitly using responses to help define future Research for Development (R4D) priority areas that align with Feed the Future goals and USAID's broader "Journey to Self-Reliance" approach in target and aligned SSA countries.
A central theme in the RFI is the large yield and production gap between SSA and the rest of the world, paired with rapidly growing regional demand. USAID frames soybean as a strategic crop because it can raise smallholder incomes, improve nutrition through affordable protein and micronutrients, support soil health via nitrogen fixation, and strengthen resilience in cereal-based farming systems. The background data included in the notice highlights that Africa accounts for only a small share of global soybean area and production, and that average yields in SSA lag far behind world averages and U.S. yields. At the same time, the RFI points to expanding markets for soybean meal in poultry and aquaculture feed and for soybean oil, reinforcing the idea that both farm-level productivity and downstream market systems matter.
USAID is especially encouraging participation from non-traditional and newer partners, including Minority Serving Institutions, local organizations, civil society, and private sector actors, as well as "new" and "underutilized" partners as defined by USAID. The point is to bring in a broad set of perspectives from stakeholders involved in soybean R4D across SSA, not just the usual set of implementers or research institutions. Responses are intended to help USAID decide what research directions and innovations are most likely to deliver sustainable impact, and what kinds of partnerships and capacity-building efforts are needed across the soybean market system.
The RFI lays out a set of priority question areas that effectively signal what USAID is considering for future programming. The first cluster focuses on improved variety development and seed systems, asking what research could drive stronger genetic gains and help varieties withstand biotic and abiotic stresses, how to build a functioning soybean seed system, and how to ensure scaling and adoption can continue in a self-sustaining way over time. The second cluster covers agronomy, mechanization, and post-harvest and processing, with an emphasis on yield-improving practices suited to SSA conditions, mechanization options that actually fit smallholder realities, and innovations that reduce losses and improve quality after harvest. The third cluster targets nutrition and markets, including how to increase household-level soybean utilization to improve nutrition outcomes and how to strengthen market linkages along the value chain. The fourth cluster elevates cross-cutting priorities: youth engagement, addressing gender disparities and different preferences and constraints faced by women and men, and the role digital technologies could play in soybean R4D. The fifth area asks directly how the private sector can contribute, which suggests USAID is looking for commercially grounded approaches to scaling, processing, aggregation, inputs, and services. A final open-ended section invites any additional ideas that respondents see as important for soybean development in SSA.
In terms of mechanics, USAID required a short, structured response rather than a proposal. Submissions had to be emailed as a single Microsoft Word attachment to the designated USAID contact (Kyle Davis) and limited to five pages (excluding a cover page), using specific formatting requirements (11-point Times New Roman, single-spaced, one-inch margins). At minimum, respondents needed to include basic organizational identification and a point of contact. USAID also made several standard but important disclaimers: this is strictly informational and voluntary; USAID will not pay for responses; proprietary information should not be submitted; materials will not be returned; and respondents should not expect feedback or notification about results. The agency reserves the right to use ideas submitted for its own planning purposes and to incorporate any, all, or none of the input into future solicitations. If USAID later released an actual solicitation (such as an RFA or RFP), it would be posted on beta.SAM.gov or Grants.gov and would require a separate response.
Overall, the opportunity is best understood as an early design and priority-setting step for a potential future cooperative agreement or related activity focused on increasing soybean production and utilization in SSA. USAID is using the RFI to map the most promising research and innovation topics across the full soybean system, from breeding and seed supply to on-farm practices, mechanization, post-harvest handling, processing, nutrition behavior, market connections, digital tools, and inclusive participation by women and youth, with a strong interest in approaches that can scale and endure beyond donor support.Apply for USAID RFI SOYBEAN
- The Agency for International Development in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "RFI - Soybean Value Chain Research Innovation Lab" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2021-02-16.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-03-02. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.
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