[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 1, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 4984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2101]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders Regarding the Capacity 
Building Grants for Non Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture Institutions 
Program

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for stakeholder input.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is 
implementing a newly funded competitive grants program called the 
Capacity Building Grants for Non Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture 
(NLGCA) Institutions Program. By this notice, NIFA is designated to act 
on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture in soliciting public comments 
and stakeholder input from interested parties regarding the development 
of the Capacity Building Grants for NLGCA Institutions Program.

DATES: The meeting will be held on March 26, 2012, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.. 
All comments must be received by close of business on March 19, 2012.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in room 1410A-D, Waterfront Centre 
Building, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department 
of Agriculture, 800 9th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20024. Meeting 
participants will need to provide photo identification to be admitted 
to the building. Please allow sufficient time to go through security.
    You may submit comments, identified by NIFA-2012-0002, by any of 
the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Email: [email protected]. Include NIFA-2012-0002 in the subject 
line of the message.
    Fax: (202) 720-2030.
    Mail: Paper, disk or CD-ROM submissions should be submitted to 
NLGCA; Institute of Youth, Family, and Community; Division of Community 
and Education; National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture; STOP 2251, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20250-2251.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: NLGCA, Institute of Youth, Family, and 
Community; Division of Community and Education, National Institute of 
Food and Agriculture; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 4449, 
Waterfront Centre, 800 9th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20024.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and reference to NIFA-2012-0002. All comments received will be posted 
to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Tamia Powell, (202) 720-1973 
(phone), (202) 720-2030 (fax), or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Additional Meeting and Comment Procedures

    Persons wishing to present oral comments at the March 26th, meeting 
is requested to pre-register by contacting Ms. Powell as directed 
above. Participants may reserve one 10-minute comment. More time may be 
available, depending on the number of people wishing to make a 
presentation and the time needed for questions following presentations. 
Reservations will be confirmed on a first-come, first-served basis. All 
other attendees may register at the meeting. All comments must be 
received by close of business March 19, 2012, to be considered. All 
comments and the official transcript of the meeting, when they become 
available, may be reviewed on the NIFA web page for six months. 
Participants who require a sign language interpreter or other special 
accommodations should contact Ms. Tamia Powell as directed above.

Background and Purpose

    Section 1473F of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and 
Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (NARETPA), (7 U.S.C. 3319i), authorizes the 
Secretary of Agriculture to make competitive grants to assist the NLGCA 
Institutions in maintaining and expanding their capacity to conduct 
education, research, and outreach activities relating to agriculture, 
renewable resources, and other similar disciplines.
    NIFA is holding a public meeting to obtain comments to use in 
developing the Request for Applications (RFA) for the newly funded 
NGLCA. The meeting is open to the public. Written comments and 
suggestions may be submitted at the address above.

Summary of Non Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture

    For fiscal year (FY) 2012, $5 million has been made available for 
the Capacity Building Grants for NLGCA Institutions program. NLGCA 
program funds will support efforts to maintain and expand the capacity 
of the NLGCA Institution to successfully compete for funds from Federal 
grants and other sources to carry out educational, research, and 
outreach activities that address priority concerns of national, 
regional, State, and local interest; to disseminate information 
relating to priority concerns to interested members of the agriculture, 
renewable resources, and other relevant communities; the public; and 
any other interested entity; and to encourage members of the 
agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities to 
participate in priority education, research, and outreach activities by 
providing matching funding to leverage grant funds.

Implementation Plans

    NIFA plans to consider stakeholder input received from this public 
meeting for developing the RFA. NIFA anticipates releasing a Request 
for Applications (RFA) by mid-May 2012.

    Done at Washington, DC, this 25 day of January 2012.
Chavonda Jacobs-Young,
Acting Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2012-2101 Filed 1-31-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P