About

About the Agricultural Research Institute

Building Partnerships

California agriculture and the state's colleges and universities have been partners in education since the 1870s. However, during the past 25 years the California State University's agricultural colleges' role has changed dramatically from that of primarily a teaching function to one of both teaching and providing applied research, outreach, and technology transfer to the state's farmers, ranchers, and consumers through university-industry partnerships. Basic and applied research conducted by the California State University and University of California systems have played an essential role in developing California agriculture's nearly $28 billion economy.

Strengthening Research

The ARI is a California State University (CSU) multi-campus applied agricultural and environmental sciences research consortium comprising the CSU's four university campus colleges of agriculture: California State University, Fresno; California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; and California State University, Chico.

Collaborating in Education

In addition to member campus collaboration, the ARI also encourages and facilitates research partnerships with other university and professional scientists such as those from the University of California (UC), the UC Cooperative Extension, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Significant achievements have been realized through these partnerships.

Improving California Agriculture

ARI projects and programs are designed to pursue research activities that have a high probability of improving the economic efficiency, productivity, profitability, and sustainability of California agriculture and its allied industries. ARI programs lead to consumer sensitive and environmentally sound food and agriculture systems and foster public confidence in food safety and agricultural research and production systems. ARI faculty and research scientists explore promising concepts in the agricultural and environmental sciences and technology that:

• Result in immediate and practical solutions for high-priority challenges confronting California's agricultural industries 
• Foster public confidence in food safety and agricultural research and production systems 
• Lead to consumer sensitive and environmentally sound food and agricultural systems 
• Extend higher education's benefits to California's fields, factories and homes
• Produce regional and statewide economic development 
• Engender state-wide agricultural, environmental, and consumer benefits
• Enhance CSU and UC faculty and student "real-life" learning opportunities
• Produce results and models that are easily replicated and transferable

Cal Poly Pomona ARI Statistics

From the development of the ARI program in 1999 until current, the Cal Poly Pomona ARI has awarded 251 campus projects totalling over $16 million in ARI funding. These projects were submitted by 70 faculty members. The table below demonstrates the amount of ARI Funding Awarded versus the external match received by fiscal year.

To date the ARI program has also funded five system-wide projects at Cal Poly Pomona which together were awarded over $1,900,000 of ARI funding.

Our student participation in ARI-sponsored projects continue to grow each year. Over a seventeen year period over 400 graduate students and over 800 undergraduate students have participated in ARI projects. The table below represents the number of students who have participated in research projects each year. (*students who worked on multiple projects in the same year were all counted as separate individual participants.)