USDA has allocated $300 million to 66 organizations in the United States - including the Cherry Marketing Institute, the U.S. Grains Council, and the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council - to create demand for the export of American food and agricultural products in high-potential markets worldwide.
Through the new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP), USDA has authorized $1.2 billion in funding from the Commodity Credit Corp. to help U.S. exporters expand their customer base beyond established markets. The regions targeted are Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia.
Among the beneficiaries are the Cherry Marketing Institute, which will receive $450,000, the USGC, which will receive $17 million in funding, and the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, which will receive $1.3 million. The American Soybean Association received the largest amount of funding, totaling $28.5 million.
"These funds will go to over 60 partner organizations that will help create demand for U.S. agricultural and food exports in high-potential markets worldwide," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
"We will fund hundreds of projects, covering a wide and vast variety of products and markets, from creating demand for American meat exports in Africa to promoting American olives in Latin America, to breaking down trade barriers for white coffee in Japan."
Read the full article: Farm Progress
Image: AgMRC
12 Aug 2024
There has been a drastic drop in production: hectares abandoned or replaced with other crops due to lack of profitability. Added to this are difficulties in protecting crops from new pests and the increasingly acute shortage of labour.
12 Sep 2025
A study in France explores the effects of ornamental winter fruits on Drosophila suzukii, an invasive pest damaging soft fruit crops. Researchers tested thermal regimes to evaluate survival, reproduction, and potential strategies for biological control and prevention.
17 Jun 2026
In Murcia, a field study on ‘Sweetheart’ sweet cherry evaluates kaolinite and calcite against heat stress, drought and solar radiation. Foliar mineral sprays improve leaf reflectance, temperature response and nutritional balance in trees exposed to intense summer heat.
17 Jun 2026
Oregon State University’s Decoy technology aims to reduce insecticide use against spotted-wing drosophila, protecting cherries, blueberries and soft fruit with attract-and-kill systems, slow-release traps and integrated biological control for fruit growers on U.S. farms.
