HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Guam Department of Agriculture entered into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program. RFSI is authorized by the American Rescue Plan and provides DOAG with a little over $2 million to fund different projects, according to a DOAG press release.
USDA and DOAG are working together to award over $2 million in competitive grant funding for projects designed to build resilience across the middle of the supply chain. DOAG opened applications for the RFSI funding beginning April 1. Applicants will select one of two subaward opportunities: the infrastructure grant (minimum $100,000 and up to $500,000) or the equipment-only grant (minimum of $10,000 and up to $100,000), the release said.
The RFSI program will assist Guam with building resilience in the middle of the supply chain and strengthen local and regional food systems by creating new revenue streams for Guam’s producers. DOAG will facilitate funding through infrastructure subawards and equipment-only subawards to support middle-of-the-supply-chain projects to create more diverse local and regional market options and create more economic opportunities for communities, allowing them to retain more of the value chain dollar. Funds will support expanded capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling and distribution of locally produced food products, including specialty crops, dairy, grains for human consumption, aquaculture and other food products, excluding meat and poultry. The RFSI program encourages creative projects that support the following:
• Development of value‐added products available to consumers.
• Processing proposals that provide fair prices, fair wages and new and safe job opportunities that keep profits in rural communities.
• Increasing diversity in processing options in terms of business model approaches, geography and availability to underserved communities.
Those interested should apply directly through the Guam Department of Agriculture beginning April 1 through April 30. DOAG and USDA encourage applications that serve smaller farms and ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, underserved producers, veteran producers and underserved communities.
For more information, visit the AMS Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure website or doag.guam.gov/resource or contact DOAG at rfsi@doag.guam.gov. Applications will be available for download on the DOAG website or hard copies may be picked up at the DOAG Agriculture Development Services office in Mangilao.
The Guam Department of Agriculture office in Mangilao is seen on Feb. 9, 2023.
