A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. The NNI put this measure in perspective using a sheet of paper as an analogy: The thickness of a sheet of paper is approximately 100,000 nanometers thick. The dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers are the nanoscale (NNI, 2000a(NNI, , 2000b. At this scale, unusual physical, chemical, and biological properties can emerge in materials. These properties tend to differ in very significant ways from the general properties of bulk materials and single atoms or molecules (NNI, 2000a(NNI, , 2000b.The applications of nanotechnology in agrifood include improved precision farming practices encompassing pathogen and contaminant detection, identity preservation and tracking, smart treatment delivery systems, and intelligent systems integration for agriculture and food processing (Peters et al., 2016 ). Nanodevices for molecular and cellular biology, nanoscale materials science and engineering to address environmental issues and agricultural waste, as well as novel packaging that can extend product shelf life and increase the quality and safety of food are also emerging applications of nanotechnology in food and agriculture (Peters et al., 2016 ). Nanotechnology applications can also be found in agricultural production, animal feed, food processing, food additives, and food products with enhanced flavor, texture, and nutrition (Handford et al., 2014 ).The growing convergence of nanoscience and nanotechnology, information and communication technologies (ICTs), biotechnology, synthetic biology, gene-editing techniques, and a host of related existing and emerging scientific disciplines is creating a challenge for workforce development. Specifically, there is an increasing need to identify skills and qualifications for these emerging fields (Yawson, 2010 ). Unfortunately, issues of nanotechnology workforce development have currently seen little input from HRD professionals and academics. The academic community is not treating the preparation of the workforce for emerging opportunities in nanotechnology