The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is putting a call out for volunteers to serve as industry relevance reviewers for pre-applications to the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI).

“The SCRI awards grants to support research that addresses the critical needs of the specialty crop industry, and it is crucial to have knowledgeable volunteers engaged in the review process to ensure the projects funded by SCRI are indeed relevant to industry,” said Hank Giclas, senior vice president of science, technology & strategic planning at Western Growers.

NIFA is in need of 60 reviewers, all who must be engaged in specialty crop production, handling or processing. This includes those who have been previously engaged in the specialty crop industry as well as representatives from trade associations.

According to NIFA, volunteers will be assigned to a panel of reviewers and given a list of pre-applications covering topics as closely related to the individual’s expertise as possible. Reviewers will be asked to read, complete an evaluation form and prepare brief comments on each pre-application. The time commitment is about 15 – 20 hours, between November 8 and December 13. 

For those interested in volunteering for this important role, please email Dr.Tom Bewick, the national program leader – horticulture at NIFA, by November 1, 2019, at [email protected].