The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) was awarded additional funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under its Regional Agriculture Promotion Program (RAPP) this year. The Council’s total allocation will be $33 million, for use in diversifying and developing markets that will be crucial to the future of U.S. agriculture exports.
“USDA’s decision to distribute RAPP funding will allow our organization to continue existing programming and expand into additional markets,” said Verity Ulibarri, USGC chairwoman. “We thank the USDA for having confidence in our programming and look forward to using the funding to continue to achieve measurable results for U.S. producers, buyers, and sellers alike.”
RAPP was launched after a request from the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry to bolster, diversify, and expand market opportunities for U.S. agricultural products.
The majority of the Council’s RAPP funding will be used to enhance its programming in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and South and Southeast Asia, where rapid population and economic growth are creating demand for high-quality agricultural products the U.S. industry will be positioned to meet.
Other portions of the investment will be committed to solidifying U.S. producers’ stances in existing top export markets and to add staff in the Council’s Washington, D.C. headquarters to properly manage and administer the Council’s increased international activity.
“RAPP funding is a game changer for the Council and other cooperators representing U.S. products in international markets and will allow a significant expansion of the great work that Council staff are already doing worldwide,” said Ryan LeGrand, USGC president and CEO. “It’s a very big world, and we are excited to work the additional funding into our export market promotion efforts already underway, but also into new ones for which we’ve been planning for years.”
Video interviews with international Council staff discussing the importance of RAPP and how it will affect markets for U.S. agriculture around the world are available on the Council’s YouTube page and on its website.