For Release: April 24, 2015

EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs is soliciting applications for a cooperative agreement that supports national farmworker training aimed at reducing exposure to pesticides for agricultural workers, their families and the agricultural community. This training will help ensure that farmworkers are aware of the strengthened protections they are afforded under the final worker protection standards that EPA expects to release in September 2015. To implement the program, EPA expects to provide up to $500,000 annually, depending on the Agency’s budget, for a total of five years.

The cooperative agreement will provide financial assistance to eligible applicants to:

• Create, develop and conduct a pesticide training, education and outreach program for farmworkers, their families and other members of the agricultural community in areas with large farmworker populations and high pesticide use on how to reduce and prevent exposure to pesticides.
• Work collaboratively with farmworker support organizations; growers; crew leaders; agricultural extension professionals; health clinics; local, state, tribal and federal governments and others in educating farmworkers, farmworker families and other members of the agricultural community about the importance of pesticide safety.

EPA’s Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is a regulation aimed at reducing the risk of pesticide poisoning and injury among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers. The WPS contains requirements for pesticide safety training. On February 20, 2014, EPA announced proposed changes to the WPS to increase protections from pesticide exposure for the nation's 2 million agricultural workers and their families.  This is an important milestone for the farm workers who plant, tend, and harvest the food that we put on our tables each day.

Since 1995, EPA has provided funding for several research and education programs designed to evaluate and convey pesticide safety information to farmworkers. EPA’s goal is to continue advancing the pesticide safety program for agricultural workers and their families, as well as to continue to address other emerging pesticide safety issues.

EPA must receive proposals through Grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on June 8, 2015.  Additional information on this soliciation is available under Funding Opportunity Announcement EPA-OPP-2015-001.

If you have questions, please contact Carolyn Schroeder at schroeder.carolyn@epa.gov.