WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating $300 million to 66 U.S. organizations, under the new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP), to build demand for American food and farm exports in high-potential markets around the globe. USA Rice received $6.25 million, with $500,000 of that ear-marked for countries in Africa.
RAPP was created in part to encourage U.S. exporters to expand beyond traditional and established markets, focusing on regions such as Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South and Southeast Asia, where consumer demand and purchasing power are growing. The new $1.3 billion program was first announced in October 2023 at the request of Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry leaders, John Boozman (R-AR) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) (see
USA Rice Daily, October 24, 2023).
The RAPP funds for USA Rice are in addition to the earlier awarded 2024 Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) allocations of $3.3 million and $1.8 million (see
USA Rice Daily, January 11, 2024), bringing the total amount of available funding to $11.4 million.
“We applaud Secretary Vilsack and the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service for prioritizing the health and vitality of export markets for U.S. agriculture,” said Steve Vargas, chair of the USA Rice International Promotion Committee. “About half of our rice production is exported and we are confident this infusion of new funds will help find new markets for U.S. rice to help maintain the strength of the U.S. rice industry.”
“When news of RAPP first came out last fall, USA Rice was quick to join the chorus of organizations highlighting that this approach should be seen as temporary and complimentary and should not replace a permanent funding increase for MAP and FMD when the Farm Bill is reauthorized,” said USA Rice President & CEO Peter Bachmann. “We are very pleased to see that the House Agriculture Committee’s 2024 Farm Bill base text includes a full doubling of the MAP and FMD programs which is a monumental investment in continuing to maintain and grow our agricultural exports for many years to come. We are hopeful that this critical provision remains intact as the Farm Bill development process continues in the Senate and ultimately makes it to enactment.”
In addition, USA Rice has received an additional $500,000 of RAPP funding on behalf of the California Wild Rice Advisory Board and the Minnesota Cultivated Wild Rice Council to promote U.S. wild rice in conjunction with those organizations.