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WASHINGTON (CN) — The federal government is investing $2.3 billion in agriculture to develop markets and bolster U.S. contributions to international food aid.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to use $1.3 billion to support specialty crop industries and diversify export markets and another $1 billion to purchase surplus commodities to support worldwide humanitarian efforts, the department said Tuesday.
The funding from the federally run Commodity Credit Corporation follows a bipartisan request by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the corporation is helping to “address the needs of American producers as significant and unpredictable challenges arise” from climate change and ongoing conflict.
“The Commodity Credit Corporation and USDA’s market development and aid programs are critically important at this time, and with this additional support we can strengthen U.S agriculture’s presence in existing markets, open up new market opportunities, and build on our relationships and connections to ensure that high-quality American agriculture and food products reach where they are needed in the world,” Vilsack said in a press release.
The Regional Agricultural Promotion Program, which allows exporters to access new markets and increase their market share in others, will receive $1.3 billion. USDA also will provide targeted technical assistance to the speciality crops industry, which covers dozens of crops designated by USDA.
USDA will use the additional $1 billion to purchase surplus commodities to support humanitarian efforts by the United States Agency for International Development, an independent body that oversees tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid annually. Its recent humanitarian aid packages include funding for Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Libya, Morocco and Ethiopia.
USDA said the investment will bolster efforts to address global hunger, support U.S. agriculture and reinforce responses to worldwide conflicts.
“U.S. agriculture stakeholders are eager to assist in addressing hunger that continues in some areas of the world due to conflict, droughts and other challenges,” USDA said in a press release. “Given the exceptionally high food needs around the world at this time, these additional commodities will fill critical resource gaps.”
Senators Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat, and John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican, the ranking members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, applauded the announcement. However, they emphasized that it does not supplant the need for a Farm Bill, a sweeping package of legislation brought forth every five years to create new programs and modify many others to support agricultural operations. The last package was approved in 2018.
“As we continue our work writing a strong, bipartisan Farm Bill, American farmers and producers have been clear about the need to strengthen trade opportunities, increase revenue streams, and help producers grow and thrive in a global economy,” the senators said in a joint statement. “As we also face rising global food insecurity, it is also clear that our country must do everything we can to address humanitarian needs abroad while supporting American farmers.”
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