Assisting Specialty Crop Exports

ASCE addresses barriers unique to specialty crops exports. It supports projects that advance U.S. specialty crop exports by expanding domestic understanding of foreign food safety systems and foreign understanding of U.S. food safety systems. The ini

ASCE is different from USDA's traditional export market development programs in that, rather than beginning with a general call for grant applications, individual projects begin with an identification of a trade barrier from industry stakeholders, which can be addressed via targeted projects implemented by third parties (i.e. not the industry).

State agricultural experiment stations, State cooperative extension services, all colleges and universities, other research or education institutions and organizations, Federal and private agencies and organizations, individuals, and any other organization, whether foreign or domestic. n.b. Individual Notices of Funding Opportunity may be made available to a subset of these organizations.

Activities supported through this program generally benefit producers of exported agricultural commodities in the United States. ASCE is especially targeted towards benefiting specialty crops which lack the existing expertise or capacity to export in compliance with the myriad of standards that exists in each potential market.

Awards may support reasonable and necessary costs appropriate for the projects being undertaken, which will vary from project to project, but may include (for example) personal compensation for technical experts; travel and subsistence expenses for participants; materials and supplies; consumables; equipment; etc. Each project scope will necessarily differ, but may commonly include market research, training workshops, and data collection. Each Notice of Funding Opportunity will specify project-specific goals, which will vary from project to project, but are intended when working in concert to address and overcome barriers to specialty crop exports.

Individual awards can be up to 5 years; extensions may be available under certain circumstances, except that in no case can an award exceed 5 years including extensions.

Applicants will be evaluated on the extent and quality to which they demonstrate that they have the capabilities, staff, resources, and equipment to successfully perform the project. Scoring will also be based on the level of detail and how clearly the applicant's capacities to address these factors are outlined in the proposal. Selection factors will be described in individual NOFOs, but generally include Technical Expertise and Experience, Overall Program Plan, Cost Effectiveness, and Quality of Submission.

USDA/FAS will convene a review panel, which may include both federal and non-federal reviewers, to review eligible applications. The reviewers will ensure that the applicant is capable of delivering the programs/activities as described in the announcement based on the applicant's project narrative and assign a score and provide summary comments. The review panel will make a recommendation list to the selecting official (generally, the Director or Senior Director for the cognizant operating group), who is not a member of the panel. The selecting official may select applications out of rank order in consideration of strategic program priorities, such as geographical distribution, incorporation of minority-serving institutions, or congressional directive. Selection determinations are final and cannot be appealed. Prior to selection, the agency may contact the highest-ranking applicants to seek clarification and to negotiate technical and programmatic aspects of the application. If an application includes a subaward, FAS may request to speak with all parties included in the application to ensure sufficient planning and coordination has taken place prior to making an award.