Jan 30 -- The Farm Service Agency, United States Department of Agriculture, invites comments by March 31, 2023 regarding data collection for the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program. The purpose of the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program is to fund projects that support a diverse set of farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners (producers) on the edge financially; moving them from surviving to thriving as they address core barriers to attain land, capital, and market access.
The Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program will fund cooperative agreements or grants for projects that are designed to align with and respond to land, capital, and market access needs of the underserved farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners while concurrently providing wraparound technical assistance to ensure that program participants have the information, training, and customized support they require. FSA will make awards through grants.gov and will be collecting the initial report, and progress reports quarterly and annually.
Applicants, if selected for funding, are required to provide within 4 weeks after signing the grant or cooperative agreement, specific information related to target audience, work plan, approach activities and identified metrics and measures aligning with the delivery of work plan activities (initial report); and submit quarterly reports of project activities (progress report) every 90 days to the assigned National Program Leader and an annual reporting requirement (progress report) within 120 days, detailing as applicable:
1. Targeted audience(s) including demographic, geographic, and economic status;
2. Outreach to be conducted including number and type of events, dates, locations, activities, and producers anticipated and impacted;
3. Budget information including requested funding amount, allocation of requested funds, amount of funds provided for assistance directly benefitting underserved producers, and number of producers benefitted by use of funds;
4. Data identifying outcomes, improvements, and impact on underserved producers' business and financial conditions;
5. Anticipated outcomes including the estimated number of underserved producers who will have increased access to land, capital, and markets (including new markets);
6. How many underserved producers will be able to retain land or acquire new land; and
7. How many underserved producers are seeking and participating in USDA Farm Service Agency farm programs and farm loan programs, Natural Resources Conservation Service programs, Risk Management Agency Federal crop insurance, Rural Development loans, or grant programs or any other programs and services administered by USDA.
Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program
https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/increasing-land-access/index
Draft data collection instruments and technical documentation requested from FSA by AEAStat.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-01754