The California State University Agricultural Research Initiative (ARI) is a comprehensive applied agricultural and environmental research program joining the CSU's four colleges of agriculture and the state's agriculture and natural resources industries and allied business communities.

The ARI fosters the development and evaluation of new and promising technologies that have the potential for improving food safety, environmental stewardship, economic performance, and long-term sustainability of California's agriculture industry. ARI projects and programs build upon a successful record of past applied research accomplishments and augment, enhance, and extend the basic research conducted by the nation's land grant universities.