Washington - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating more than $650,000 to Native Tribes as part of its effort to strengthen Tribal Nations’ infrastructure for pest detection and surveillance, identification, threat mitigation, and outreach. Overall, USDA is providing more than $70 million in funding this year to support 372 projects in 49 states, Guam and Puerto Rico. USDA provides this funding under the authority of the Plant Protection Act Section 7721.
“USDA is committed to protecting plant health and food security in indigenous communities. These projects will provide Tribal Nations with the tools they need to protect their agriculture and natural resources and will contribute to keeping the U.S. agricultural economy strong," said USDA Under Secretary Jenny Moffitt.
These funds will support projects covering a range of plant health and pest mitigation activities, including:Since 2009, USDA has supported more than 4,800 projects and provided nearly $740 million in PPA 7721 funding. Collectively, these projects allow USDA and its partners to quickly detect and rapidly respond to invasive plant pests and diseases. PPA 7721 projects also help the nation maintain the infrastructure necessary to ensure disease-free, certified planting materials are available to U.S. specialty crop producers.
In addition to the PPA 7721 annual funding opportunities, USDA offers a variety of programs and services that are available to Tribal governments, communities and organizations, and individual Native Americans and Alaskan Natives. Visit the Office of Tribal Relations (OTR) website for information on the programs and services available to Tribal communities at USDA.
View the fiscal year 2022 Plant Protection Act’s Section 7721 spending plans on the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website: www.aphis.usda.gov/ppa-projects.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
