The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing more than $234 million in grants to support specialty crops.
According to a press release, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, “This historic level of funding will help the specialty crops industry recover from the effects of the pandemic. Over the coming months as we work diligently to transform our food system, you will continue to see Build Back Better funding announced that includes a mix of grants, loans and innovative financing mechanisms.”
Specialty crops are defined as including fruits, vegetables, nuts and nursery crops. The USDA is investing $169.9 million in grants through the Specialty Crop Bock Grant Program and has invested more than $880 million total through the program since 2006.
The rest of the funds are accounted for with $74 million in grants to 21 different award recipients through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative.
According to the USDA, "The SCRI gives priority to projects that are multi-state, multi-institutional, or trans-disciplinary and include ways to communicate results to producers and the public."
With the grants, the USDA hopes to usher in the next era of specialty crop production and open up the use of cutting-edge technology in the agriculture sector.
