Congressional Chicken Caucus co-chair Jim Costa (D-CA) this week joined several key Members of Congress in the reintroduction of the Agriculture Export Promotion Act, which would significantly increase funding to the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program.
“Opening and growing new markets for American-made products is critical to building our agricultural economy,” said Rep. Costa. “Food is a global security issue, and we must do all we can to reverse disruptions in trade and grow new partnerships that help deliver American products around the world.”
Rep. Costa was joined by Reps. Tracey Mann (R-KS), Brad Finstad (R-MN), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Kim Schrier (D-WA), and Chellie Pingree (D-ME).
The legislation would double the authorized annual funding for the MAP and FMD programs. MAP currently receives $200 million, and FMD receives $34.5 million in annual funding.
The full bill text can be found here.
Background:
The Market Access Program (MAP) was established in 1985, and allows agricultural trade associations, farmer cooperatives, non-profit trade groups, and small businesses to apply for either generic or brand-specific promotion funds to support exporting efforts. Generic commodity funds are issues with a 10-percent minimum matching fund, while brand-specific funds require a funding match of at least 50%.
The Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) was first developed in 1955 and is largely used for the promotion of bulk commodities, helping agricultural trade associations establish permanent presences in important markets. It also includes a matching fund requirement.
USDA export programs like MAP and FMD have added an annual average of $8.15 billion to the value of American agricultural exports, and added up to 239,800 full and part-time jobs, including 90,000 farm sector jobs. Despite these successes, MAP and FMD funding has not increased since the 2002 Farm Bill, even as competitors increase their efforts; for example, the European Union’s spending for the promotion of wine exceeded the total budget of MAP and FMD in 2017.
The National Chicken Council supports the legislation.
