© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An alfalfa field, a water-intensive crop, is cut by a Triple M Farms employee amid extreme drought conditions in Pinal County near Casa Grande, Arizona, U.S., August 27, 2022. REUTERS/Rebecca Noble/File Photo
By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday said it would start accepting applications for an initial $300 million in funding to help U.S. agricultural exporters break into new markets outside China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will make the announcement during a meeting of the President’s Export Council at the White House, kicking off the first year of the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP) established by USDA in October.
The RAPP program will provide a total of $1.2 billion over five years to non-profit U.S. agricultural trade groups, State Regional Trade Groups (SRTGs), U.S. agricultural cooperatives, and other state agencies to help them tap new markets and increase market share.
“It takes significant investment to open and develop new export markets and this new fund will be dedicated to helping provide that start-up capital so that…
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