The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) invites stakeholders to submit suggestions for fiscal year (FY) 2024 Plant Protection Act Section 7721 (PPA 7721) funding to protect American agriculture and natural resources. The open period for submitting suggestions for Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program funding runs from June 14 through Aug. 9, 2023. APHIS will provide $75 million in plant protection funding for these projects, including at least $7.5 million for projects under the National Clean Plant Network. APHIS will set aside up to $4 million in funding to support Tribes, Tribal organizations and universities as well as other minority-affiliated organizations.

This year APHIS applications are moving from Metastorm to the new ServiceNow platform. ServiceNow users must first obtain an e-Authentication account. Then they will be able to access the PPA 7721 suggestion page in ServiceNow simply by clicking on ServiceNow. APHIS will offer virtual training webinars on ServiceNow in the coming weeks.

Under the PPA 7721’s Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program, APHIS provides funding to its partners to help them safeguard against, detect, and respond to invasive plant pests and diseases. Climate change has increased the level of plant pest infestations and disease infection, allowed pests to produce more generations each year, and extended the suitable habitat for plant pests.

APHIS worked with other governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, industry organizations, the National Plant Board, State departments of agriculture, and Tribal organizations to develop the FY 2024 Implementation Plan. The plan outlines six strategic goal areas for funding projects:

1. enhancing plant pest/disease analysis and survey;
2. targeting domestic inspection activities at vulnerable points in the safeguarding continuum;
3. enhancing and strengthening pest identification and technology;
4. safeguarding nursery production;
5. conducting targeted outreach and education; and
6. enhancing mitigation and rapid response capabilities.

Those interested in submitting funding suggestions should visit www.aphis.usda.gov/ppa-projects for resources and guidance, including the FY 2024 Implementation Plan, answers to frequently asked questions, templates, help session webinar schedule, and more.

The FY 2024 Implementation Plan also lists the priorities for projects supporting PPA 7721’s National Clean Plant Network (NCPN). The NCPN is a network of clean plant centers for diagnostic and pathogen elimination services to produce clean propagative plant material and maintain blocks of pathogen-tested plant material in sites throughout the United States. NCPN program priorities include:

• promoting the introduction, diagnosis, treatment, maintenance, and distribution of clean plant materials for commercial development;
• optimizing the implementation of new methods and best practices while increasing the awareness of the importance, availability, and use of clean plants; and
• building partnerships with research, extension, regulatory, and industry stakeholders to enhance clean plant center services and capacity.

The open period to apply for NCPN program funding runs from June 14 through Sept. 6, 2023. Funding is available for land-grant universities, non-land-grant colleges of agriculture, State agricultural experiment stations, State and Federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Proposals focused on specialty crops have funding priority. Visit www.aphis.usda.gov/ppa-projects to learn more about the NCPN program.

To receive email updates, subscribe to the Plant Protection Act 7721 topic in the APHIS Stakeholder Registry

Original source can be found here.