The USDA is investing $100M in innovation for screwworm control and eradication. SFF can help you apply.

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2026·EA Forum·forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/QKWsxxQHni7cy3oq9/the-u...

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Screwworm Free Future

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Good quality. Reputable source with community review or editorial standards, but less rigorous than peer-reviewed venues.

Rating inherited from publication venue: EA Forum

This EA Forum post is primarily a funding opportunity notice, tangential to AI safety but potentially relevant to biosecurity researchers or those tracking government investment in biological risk reduction strategies.

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Animal welfareOpportunities to take actionCareer choiceFunding opportunitiesGene drivesGlobal health and wellbeingNews relevant to effective altruismPublic interest technologyScrewworm Free Future

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Summary

The USDA has committed $100 million to fund innovation in screwworm control and eradication, and the Survival and Flourishing Fund (SFF) is offering to help researchers and organizations apply for this funding. This represents a biosecurity and animal welfare opportunity at the intersection of agricultural pest control and strategic biological risk reduction.

Key Points

•USDA is investing $100M in new approaches to controlling and eradicating the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly posing significant agricultural and biosecurity risks.
•The Survival and Flourishing Fund (SFF) is actively supporting applicants seeking this USDA funding, offering guidance and facilitation.
•Screwworm eradication efforts relate to broader biosecurity themes including biological pest control, sterile insect technique, and agricultural resilience.
•This funding opportunity may be relevant to researchers working on genetic biocontrol, entomology, or agricultural biosecurity.
•The post signals EA-adjacent interest in leveraging government biosecurity funding for high-impact interventions.

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# The USDA is investing $100M in innovation for screwworm control and eradication. SFF can help you apply. 
By Screwworm Free Future
Published: 2026-02-05
The [USDA New World Screwworm Grand Challenge](https://www.aphis.usda.gov/funding/new-world-screwworm-grand-challenge-funding-opportunity) represents the largest single funding opportunity for screwworm research and control technologies in decades. **Applications are due February 23, 2026.**

**What's happening?**  
The New World Screwworm (NWS) is a flesh-eating fly endemic to the Americas that lays eggs in open wounds of warm-blooded animals. The larvae burrow into living flesh, consuming the host from inside. Infected animals experience excruciating pain, stop eating, and die slowly over days to weeks. This parasite occasionally infects humans too. NWS was previously eradicated from North and Central America, although containment efforts failed in 2024 and the parasite has reached Northern Mexico in January 2026.  

New technologies like gene-drive-enhanced sterile insect technique (SIT) could make large-scale control and eradication faster and cheaper than ever before. The USDA Grand Challenge represents an opportunity to direct funding to developing technologies with potential applications beyond the United States southern border. Next-gen SIT and gene-drive could help extend the range of control and eradication to South America for the first time, safeguarding rural livelihoods and the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of animals. 

[**Screwworm Free Future**](https://www.linkedin.com/company/screwworm-free-future/) is supporting qualified applicants -- particularly those working in or with endemic regions in South America -- to develop competitive proposals that advance hemispheric control and eradication efforts 

**If you are a scientist or researcher working on any of the areas below, we may be interested in supporting your application: **  
  
**Funding scope **  
Awards ≤$5M for projects completable within 2 years across four topics:  
→ Topic 1: Sterile fly production enhancements (scalable SIT innovations, male-only strains)  
→ Topic 2: Novel traps and lures (surveillance systems, AI-enabled detection)  
→ Topic 3: Therapeutics and treatments (stockpilable treatments, vaccines, accessible formulations)  
→ Topic 4: Preparedness and response tools (data-sharing platforms, surveillance protocols, economic models, rapid response frameworks)  
  
**Eligibility**  
Both U.S. and non-U.S. organizations are eligible. The USDA explicitly includes foreign organizations and non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations among eligible applicants.  
  
**What SFF can help with**  
We're engaging a U.S. grants and compliance consultant to support strategic applicants with:  
→ Federal grants compliance ([**SAM.gov**](http://sam.gov/) registration, ezFedGrants navigation, reporting requirements)   
→ Application development (work plans, financial plans, SF-424 forms)   
→ Alignment with USDA evalu

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