Request for Proposals: Building Resilience in Agriculture

The projects should have measurable outcomes on the resilience of farms, farming communities, and natural ecosystems in the farming landscapes to the realities of changing climates and extreme weather events. The projects will demonstrate, measure, and support practices and approaches that are regenerative.

They will only consider projects with a predominant field or land component where solutions are applied and tested on a farm, in a farming community, or in a landscape adjacent to cultivated land. The projects should include one or more of the following terrestrial food crops: corn, wheat, oats, potatoes, sugar beets, oilseeds (i.e. canola, sunflower, rice bran), rice, oats, cocoa, oil palm, raisins and soy.

They are particularly interested in supporting applied science-based projects that address highly localized barriers in adopting more regenerative, climate smart land management approaches. This means that in addition to understanding the environmental outcomes, projects must also evaluate the cultural, social and economic feasibility of adoption and scalability.

Benefits

• Grant recipients become National Geographic Explorers, will join the Explorer Community, and will be eligible for future learning, capacity building, and networking opportunities.
• In addition, grant recipients:
  • may need to be available to travel to Europe for an event soon after receiving notification of awards in January, 2026;
  • will travel to the National Geographic Society’s Base Camp headquarters in Washington DC for a multi-day gathering to meet Society staff and key partners in 2026.
  • may receive additional mentorship, training, and other elevation opportunities as individuals and as a cohort; and
  • might be featured in communications materials by the Society and/or the funding partner that may include (but are not limited to) video and photography related to themselves, the project, and their results, shared through various media platforms.

Funding Information

• Requested project budget may not exceed $150,000.
• Duration: Project must be completed within 2 years of receipt of funding.

Expected Outcomes

• The project’s main goals must aim to make farms, farming communities, and natural ecosystems more resilient and demonstrate two or more of the following outcomes:
  • Soil Health: Build the health and fertility of the soil to support a healthy and productive ecosystem above and below ground.
  • Climate Mitigation and Adaptation: Increase resilience to climate change impacts, sequester carbon, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Watershed Health: Improve watershed health through reducing nutrient runoff and the quantity of water needed for farms and communities to thrive.
  • Biodiversity: Protect and improve biodiversity across agricultural landscapes – examples include forest conservation and restoration, bees and other pollinators for crops as well as improving the soil microbiome.
  • Improved Livelihoods: Improve livelihoods in locally contextualized ways, ensuring farmers’ access to training, decision making and resources to implement sustainable agricultural practices and achieve improved farm performance.

Eligibility Criteria

• This opportunity is awarded as a Level II grant, which is best suited for individual project leaders with sufficient experience leading solutions-based regenerative projects on a farm, in a farming community, or in an impacted landscape adjacent to cultivated land. These grants are highly competitive and are reserved for select projects that meet the criteria and achieve significant tangible impact.
• Previous National Geographic Explorers as well as those new to their community are welcome to apply. You are not required to have previously received a grant from the National Geographic Society to apply for this opportunity.
• Applicant must be over the age of 18.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Applicant must not be a current National Geographic Society staff member.
• They will not consider projects that:
  • are focused solely on crops used for non-food items like fiber production.
  • are focused solely on livestock or other animal farming practices, including grazing, breeding, welfare, and feed production.
  • are not co-created with farmers.
  • are exclusively focused on the basic research of technological innovations.
  • exceed the maximum budget of $150,000 without other sources of funding secured at the time the proposal is submitted
  • require land conversion: the projects must take place on existing cultivated land.

For more information, visit National Geographic Society.