The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) requests applications for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP).
Donor Name: North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
State: North Carolina
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/04/2024
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
The SCBGP assists State departments of agriculture in the 50 States, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. specialty crops by—
- leveraging efforts to market and promote specialty crops;
- assisting producers with research and development relevant to specialty crops;
- expanding availability and access to specialty crops; and
- addressing local, regional, and national challenges confronting specialty crop producers.
Specialty crops are fruits, vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture). A State department of agriculture is the agency, commission, or department of a State government responsible for agriculture within the State. The term ‘State’ means the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Project Types
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) administers the SCBGP. USDA encourages projects pertaining to the following issues affecting the specialty crop industry:
- enhancing food safety;
- improving the capacity of all entities in the specialty crop distribution chain to comply with the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act, for example, by developing “Good Agricultural Practices,” “Good Handling Practices,” “Good Manufacturing Practices,” and in cost-share arrangements for funding audits of such systems for small farmers, packers and processors;
- investing in specialty crop research, including research to focus on conservation and environmental outcomes;
- developing new and improved seed varieties and specialty crops;
- pest and disease control;
- Increasing child and adult nutrition knowledge and consumption of specialty crops;
- Improving efficiency and reducing costs of distribution systems; and
- Sustainability
USDA promotes climate-resilient landscapes and rural economic systems, including tools to support agriculture, forests, grazing lands, and rural communities. AMS encourages applicants to consider including goals and activities related to reducing and stabilizing the levels of heat trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere or adapting to the already occurring climate change in their project’s design and implementation.
Funding Information
- The maximum grant request amount for 2024 will be no more than $200,000.
- NC SCBGP grant funds will be awarded for projects of up to two (2) years and six (6) months duration.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program include state and/or local governmental units, academia (Universities and Colleges), and non-profit organizations, including producer associations, community-based organizations and other specialty crop stakeholders.
For more information, visit NCDA&CS.
