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Thursday, July 21, 2011

$1 Million in Federal Payments for Disadvantaged Farmers in Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON, DC- Hundreds of farmers in Puerto Rico will receive a combined total of nearly $1 million as part of the first ever federal payments under the “Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment Program for Geographically Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers” (RTCP), which is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This program is designed to provide assistance to farmers and producers in Puerto Rico, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Under the program, farmers and producers are eligible to be reimbursed for a portion of the cost they incurred to transport an agricultural commodity or an input used to produce an agricultural commodity, subject to an $8,000 cap per producer per fiscal year.

Eligible commodities (including horticulture, aquaculture, and floriculture) are defined as food, feed, fiber, livestock, insects and any product thereof. To be eligible for reimbursement, the commodity or input in question must have been transported 30 miles or more.

The approximately $1 million allocation is from RTCP funds allocated by Congress in the Agriculture Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2010. The allocation to Puerto Rico is the largest allocation made to any jurisdiction.

In May, the Resident Commissioner—along with the Members of Congress from Alaska, Hawaii and the other territories—sent a letter to the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Agriculture, urging continued funding for the RTCP in Fiscal Year 2012.

“The importance of continuing this program in Fiscal Year 2012 is magnified by the current, historic highs in fuel and transportation costs. For decades, farmers outside of the 48 contiguous states have operated at a competitive disadvantage. The RTCP helps our farmers overcome these disadvantages. When our farmers can compete, the health of the American marketplace is improved and our jurisdictions become more food independent,” read the Resident Commissioner’s letter.

The time period for farmers to apply for Fiscal Year 2011 funds will begin on July 25th and end on September 9th. Farmers can obtain their RTCP application at one of the nine Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices in Puerto Rico, listed below.

Adjuntas (787-829-2030); Arecibo (787-878-2580); Barranquitas (787-857-3940); Caguas (787-743-2203); Corozal (787-859-3978); Lares (787-897-4610); Mayagüez (787-831-3328); Ponce (787-841-3136); Utuado (787-894-4657).