U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the second round of Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP) grants, which is intended to allocate $300 million to 67 partners once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied, expanding American food and agricultural exports in emerging global markets. This latest investment brings total RAPP funding to $600 million in 2024.
The new grants aim to diversify export markets in regions with rising consumer demand and purchasing power, including Africa, Latin America/the Caribbean, and South/Southeast Asia. These regions offer significant opportunities for U.S. producers seeking to establish a stronger foothold in dynamic and growing markets.
“RAPP is a critical tool for helping U.S. producers and agribusinesses stay competitive in today’s global trading environment,” Secretary Vilsack said. “The Biden-Harris approach to trade is delivering results for U.S. agriculture through record exports and improved relationships with current and future trading partners, and this investment supports actions that build on the global demand for American agriculture’s high-quality products.”
Under the Biden-Harris administration, U.S. agricultural exports have grown significantly, posting the three highest years in history in 2021, 2022, and 2023 – including a record of nearly $196 billion in 2022 and nearly $175 billion in 2023. USDA and the United States Trade Representative (USTR) have helped to secure over $26.7 billion in agricultural market access since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration.
In Fiscal Year 2024, the actions of USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service helped preserve $8.8 billion in total U.S. agricultural exports. Since 2022, USDA has issued $9.4 billion in loan payment guarantees to facilitate the diversification of U.S. agricultural export markets. USDA also leveraged $2.3 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds in 2024 to help U.S. agriculture export market development efforts and combat global food insecurity. In addition to RAPP, $100 million was targeted for aid to address the unique challenges for specialty crops producers seeking to enhance market growth opportunities by exporting. Separately, USDA is using $1 billion of the CCC funds to support international food assistance programs and strengthen global food security, which benefits U.S. agricultural producers.
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