Funded by a $1 million NSF Regional Innovation Engines grant, the Climate-Responsive Opportunities in Plant Science (CROPS) initiative unites researchers from Duke, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, East Carolina University, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest University, along with partners from North Carolina Cooperative Extension, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Research Triangle International, and the North Carolina Community College System. Together, they will design a 42-county Agricultural Tech Innovation Corridor to accelerate agricultural advancements in underserved areas in North Carolina.
Through educational programming, workforce development, and startup grants, the coalition will share knowledge on farming technology, agricultural business management, and natural resource conservation. CROPS also aims to help small producers identify profitable new crops and livestock enterprises and build community-based local food systems. With a strong workforce development component to the effort, the initiative seeks to foster small-scale farmland economic performance and increase diversity in farming. The program will stress climate-smart techniques and ways to create climate resilience, and provide information about technologies to help agricultural operations thrive. Programs are free to participants.