The Arkansas Department of Agriculture announced that it’s receiving $5.6 million from a U.S. Department of Agriculture program to improve food supply chain operations and strengthen local food systems throughout the state.
Eligible entities include agricultural producers, processors, nonprofits, local governments, tribal governments and institutions.
The Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program focused on funding activities that:
- Improve the middle of the supply chain operations
- Expand capacity for processing, aggregation, and distribution of agricultural products to create more and better markets for producers
- Modernize manufacturing, tracking, storage, and information technology systems
- Enhance worker safety through the adoption of new technologies or investment in equipment or facility improvements
- Improve the capacity of entities to comply with federal, state, and local food safety requirements
- Improve operations through training opportunities.
- Support the construction of a new facility
- Modernize or expand an existing facility (including expansion and modifications to existing buildings and/or construction of new buildings at existing facilities)
- Support the construction of wastewater management structures
- Modernize processing and manufacturing equipment
- Develop, customize, or install equipment that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, increases efficiency in water use, improves air and/or water quality, and/or meets one or more of USDA’s climate action goals
The Department is developing a state plan to establish the priorities for this funding and is seeking feedback from the public through Aug. 7.
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