The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service has a cooperative agreement with North Carolina under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program, or RFSI. Through this agreement, USDA and North Carolina are working together to offer over $6.2 million in competitive grant funding for projects designed to build resilience across the middle of the supply chain.
Using RFSI funding, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services will fund projects that expand on-farm cold storage and packaging capacity, implement post-harvest handling, provide refrigerated trucks and expand aggregator facilities. The state’s priorities are informed by stakeholder engagement and outreach to underserved producers to better understand their needs.
“We are excited to leverage this $6.2 million in federal funding to improve the food supply chain for consumers, agribusinesses and farmers,” said North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Specifically, this program will better position produce, dairy products, eggs, aquaculture and value-added products produced in our state and will offer additional opportunities for profitability.”
Those interested in receiving a subaward should apply directly through NCDA&CS. Applications will be accepted beginning May 1, 2024, through June 15, 2024.
For more information, visit the AMS Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure web page.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service also has a cooperative agreement with Puerto Rico under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program. Through this agreement, USDA and Puerto Rico are working together to offer over $3.5 million in competitive grant funding for projects designed to build resilience across the middle of the supply chain.
Using RFSI funding, the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture will bolster the island’s agricultural infrastructure with an emphasis on establishing advanced industrial processing facilities. The department will fund projects that expand processing capacity, support new wholesale products lines, increase packaging and labeling capacities, increase cold storage and purchase specialized equipment and delivery vehicles. The island’s priorities are informed by stakeholder engagement and outreach to underserved producers to better understand their needs.
“Alongside the Federal Government, we are providing our farmers with the greatest tools and economic resources, which is crucial to ensure an effective agricultural operation. This helps us guarantee that we will have the largest quantity of local products. By investing in innovative projects through our programs, we offer them greater growth opportunities,” said Puerto Rico Agriculture Department Secretary, Ramón González Beiró.
Those interested in receiving a subaward should apply directly through the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture by June 30, 2024. For both North Carolina and Puerto Rico applications, AMS encourages applications that serve smaller farms and ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, underserved producers, veteran producers and underserved communities.
Source: USDA's AMS
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