Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture is opening up hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding to prop up agricultural exports in new markets. The money is part of a $1.2 billion effort to diversify farm revenue amid a significant trade deficit.
- The department said it will make an additional $300 million available through the recently created Regional Agricultural Promotion Program to help farmers grow their customer base beyond traditional trade partners China, Mexico and Canada.
- The USDA awarded 66 organizations $300 million in May for market development projects in places like Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Applications for this round of funding are due Oct. 4, with awards set to be announced by the end of the year.
Dive Insight:
The USDA is ramping up opportunities to help agricultural exporters in absence of a new farm bill, which was expected to provide a big boost in trade funding.
Hopes for a farm bill this year have dwindled as Congress embarks on August recess and negotiators continue to spar over climate and nutrition funding. Following last fall's extension of the 2018 farm bill, the USDA created RAPP to alleviate funding shortfalls in current negotiations and help farmers remain competitive on the global stage as top buyer China slows purchases.
Now, with the farm bill likely headed toward another extension, the department is again releasing trade support. Deputy Agriculture Secretary Xochitl Torres Small said the previous funding round received "tremendous interest, culminating in more than a billion dollars in proposals."
"Given the importance of exports in supporting farm income and rural economic development, we’re delighted to be able to make an additional $300 million available this year,” Torres Small said in a statement.
The agricultural trade deficit is set to hit a record $34 billion in fiscal year 2024, which would be only the fourth deficit in the last 50 years, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. Farm groups have pressed for additional funding and free trade agreements as a way to build up new markets and make up for some of the losses from China.
USDA has looked to Africa for new trade opportunities for farmers, and has set aside $25 million in RAPP funding grants for activities on the continent. Africa has some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, yet the lowest levels of U.S. export market investment, according to the department.
