The Department of Agriculture has agreed to use Commodity Credit Corporation funds to spend nearly $1.4 billion on a program to help farm groups market their commodities overseas, and another $1.1 billion to pay for commodity-based international food aid, according to sources.
One of the sources who confirmed the plan to Agri-Pulse had viewed a copy of a letter from the department to the House and Senate Appropriations committees.
The market promotion funding would establish a Regional Agricultural Trade Promotion program that would be similar to an effort launched by the Trump administration during the trade war with China.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, the top Republican on the committee, sent a request in late August to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack to use CCC funds to bolster spending on marketing and international aid.
“We write to urge you to consider using your authorities with regard to the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act to support the creation of new and better market opportunities for our nation’s farmers by addressing two key needs: trade promotion, and in-kind international food assistance,” Stabenow and Boozman said in the letter.
Stabenow and Boozman told Agri-Pulse the CCC funding would help supplement funding in the next farm bill. Boozman also said using the CCC for market promotion would help bridge a gap in spending while the 2018 farm bill is expired.
USDA issued a statement on Sept. 6, saying: “The issues that Senators Stabenow and Boozman raise with respect to trade and food aid are concerns we share at USDA. As international commodities markets are increasingly impacted by disruptions like COVID-19, a changing climate, and global food insecurity in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine, USDA’s market development and promotion, and aid programs are more important than ever.”
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Lorena Alfaro, executive director of the U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council, said the group welcomed new market development funding.
“USAEDC and its members are deeply grateful for USDA’s support and the recognition that the export programs are chronically underfunded,” she told Agri-Pulse. “With the additional funding, USAEDC members will be better positioned to compete in the global marketplace and significantly expand their export strategies.”
Lawmakers and farm groups have been pushing hard for increased funding on USDA marketing programs like the Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development program in the next farm bill. Funding authority for MAP and FMD under the 2018 law expires Sept. 30.
Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., is one of the lawmakers who have been pushing for Congress to double MAP funding to $400 million and FMD funding to $69 million.
“The goal is to get more money in those programs,” Panetta told Agri-Pulse Friday. “However they want to do it is fine, but that’s our goal.”
Alfaro also said that “given that the Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development program have not had increased funding in over 17 years, we hope that Congress will undertake the legislative heavy lifting to ensure these programs are authorized at these higher levels in the next farm bill.”
