Controlled environment agriculture: An opportunity to strengthen interagency research collaboration in the US government

Authors: BOYD, ABIGAIL - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE); ZANKOWSKI, PAUL - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); WHEELER, RAYMOND - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); STOKES-DRAUT, JENNIFER - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; CHUDNOVSKY, YAROSLAV - Department Of Energy; INGRAM, DAVID - Food And Drug Administration(FDA); TIJERINA, MARY - Food And Drug Administration(FDA); MICKENS, MATTHEW - National Aeronautics And Space Administration (NASA); STEWARD, DARLENE - National Renewable Energy Laboatory; ARMSTRONG, KRISTINA - Oak Ridge National Laboratory; BOGGS, ASHLEY - National Institute Of Standards And Technology; NEELY, BENJAMIN - National Institute Of Standards And Technology; Lunney, Joan; Luo, Yaguang

Submitted to: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences-Nexus
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/6/2025
Publication Date: 6/5/2025
Citation: Boyd, A., Zankowski, P., Wheeler, R., Stokes-Draut, J., Chudnovsky, Y., Ingram, D., Tijerina, M., Mickens, M., Steward, D., Armstrong, K., Boggs, A., Neely, B., Lunney, J.K., Luo, Y. 2025. Controlled environment agriculture: An opportunity to strengthen interagency research collaboration in the US government. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences-Nexus. 4(6). Article epgaf155. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf155.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf155

Interpretive Summary: In this white paper representatives from multiple government agencies, including USDA, NASA, DOE, and FDA examine how the U.S. government can better collaborate to advance controlled environment agriculture (CEA). CEA is an approach to crop production that has the potential to use less land and water, adapt to climate change, and increase the resiliency of the food system. Technology developed for CEA has the potential to impact conventional field agriculture and the fresh produce industry as a whole. To be successful, the CEA industry requires input from a wide range of scientific disciplines, such as horticulture, nutrition, hydrology, and engineering. This manuscript proposes approaches that government agencies with differing technical expertise can collaborate to help grow the CEA industry.

Technical Abstract: Challenges facing food production and agricultural systems are increasingly interconnected with economic, security, health, and equity issues, among others. Threats such as extreme weather, economic volatility, and shrinking water resources and arable land, influence our ability to maintain a safe and resilient food supply. One promising solution to these threats is controlled environment agriculture (CEA). In many cases, CEA can drastically reduce the amount of water and land used in crop production while increasing productivity. Operations may be established in nearly any environment and harvests can take place year-round, supporting food system resiliency and sustainability. CEA sits at the nexus of a number of disciplines and industries, making it well suited for transdisciplinary and multi-institutional research coordination. Herein, authors from multiple US government agencies present CEA as a case study in improving cross-agency research collaboration. The federal government houses a range of scientific expertise and research capabilities, positioning scientists to lead national and global efforts in transdisciplinary, interagency approaches to complex challenges. Navigating cross-agency collaboration can be a challenge, especially coordinating across different scientific disciplines, geographic locations, and funding mechanisms. To enhance multiagency efforts, collaborators could prioritize (i) organizing personnel and resources, (ii) enhancing existing multiagency collaborations, and (iii) focusing on further opportunities for coordination. Adopting these approaches could enable federal researchers to reinforce and advance academic and industry efforts to address current CEA challenges while solidifying the United States as a leader in this arena.