USDA Provides more than $1.4 Million to Projects that Protect North Carolina Food Supply and Natural Resources

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Media Contacts:
Cecilia Sequeira, 301-851-4054
K.Cecilia.Sequeira@usda.gov
Suzanne Bond, 301-851-4070
Suzanne.M.Bond@usda.gov

WASHINGTON, February 6, 2024 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating more than $1.4 million to North Carolina as part of a nationwide effort to strengthen the country’s infrastructure for pest detection, surveillance, and mitigation, as well as protect the U.S. nursery system. Through the authority of the Plant Protection Act Section 7721, USDA is providing more than $70 million in funding this year. These funds will support 374 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico.

“Agriculture is North Carolina’s top industry, made up of 45,000 farms, spanning more than 8 million acres. North Carolina agriculture contributes more than $92 billion to the local economy. Protecting that industry is vital,” said USDA Under Secretary Jenny Moffitt. “These projects will help North Carolina protect its resources and its contributions to our national agricultural economy.”

These funds will support projects covering a range of plant health protection activities including, but not limited to:

  • $487,000 to support the National Clean Plant Network plant stocks for multiple crops;
  • $316,353 to conduct research on climate suitability and potential climate change impacts of high-risk pests;
  • $213,722 to continue developing pest impact assessments and data sheets;
  • $209,376 to support invasive-pest risk analysis focused on trade route pathways at risk of introducing invasive pests into the U.S.;
  • $193,183 to continue developing an automated early warning system to identify harmful insects from global sources; and
  • $132,434 to evaluate a biocontrol method to suppress wild spotted wing drosophila populations.

Since 2009, USDA has supported more than 5,520 projects and provided nearly $870 million in PPA 7721 funding. These projects help USDA, and its partners quickly detect and respond to invasive plant pests and diseases. They also help our country maintain the essential infrastructure in place that enables U.S. specialty crop producers to have access to healthy, certified disease-free plants.

View the fiscal year 2024 Plant Protection Act’s Section 7721 spending plans online: www.aphis.usda.gov/ppa-projects.

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APHIS protects the health of U.S. agriculture and natural resources against invasive pests and diseases, regulates genetically engineered crops, administers the Animal Welfare Act, and helps people and wildlife coexist. We also certify the health of U.S. agricultural exports and resolve phytosanitary and sanitary issues to open, expand, and maintain markets for U.S plant and animal products.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.