The Almond Board of California (ABC) has secured $7 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP). ABC’s funding award is part of a $1.2 billion initiative to enhance U.S. agricultural competitiveness globally. ABC Vice President of Global, Technical, and Regulatory Affairs, Julie Adams said the RAPP funding will help support efforts in multiple export markets.
“This program really leverages opportunities in new regions. So specifically looking at Africa, Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, really where we see a lot of growth occurring. Some of these are regions the Board has not been as extensively involved in,” said Adams. “With our application, we looked at the opportunity to expand what we’re doing in India, which is of course our largest export market. But also, to see how we could accelerate and operationalize some of the new opportunities that we identified through the Deloitte Market Assessment Study that was concluded last year.”
The application for the RAPP funding identified India, Morocco, Turkey, Indonesia, and Brazil as areas to expand market access for California almonds. Adams said that Turkey holds promise, as nuts and dried fruits are increasingly popular. RAPP funding will go towards further assessment with the aim of expanding market presence.
The $7 million grant will be distributed over five years, with opportunities for additional funding in future tranches. ABC plans to use the funding strategically, incorporating it into ongoing and new initiatives. Adams said they will look to allocate the RAPP funding in ways that will have the largest impact in new and existing markets. “We really have a pretty robust way of evaluating markets and doing research to ensure that where we’re spending budgets are going to have the best return possible for the industry. That’s what we’ll be looking at now,” Adams explained.
Listen to the interview below.
Brian German
Ag News Director / AgNet West