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[Federal Register: January 8, 2002 (Volume
67, Number 5)]
[Notices]
[Page 854-856]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
Notices
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency statements of organization and functions are examples of documents appearing in this section.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Commodity Credit Corporation
Announcement of the Emerging Markets Program for
Fiscal Year 2002
AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit Corporation is
inviting private sector proposals for the FY 2002 Emerging Markets Program.
DATES: All proposals must be received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time,
March 11, 2002. Announcements of funding decisions for the EMP are anticipated
sometime after mid-July 2002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marketing Operations Staff, Foreign
Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 4932S, STOP 1042,
1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-1042, phone: (202) 720-4327,
fax: (202) 720-9361, e-mail: emo@fas.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) announces that
proposals are being accepted for participation in the Fiscal Year 2002 Emerging
Markets Program (EMP). The purpose of the EMP is to assist U.S. organizations,
public and private, to improve market access and to develop and promote U.S.
agricultural products and/or processes in low-to middle income countries that
offer promise of emerging market opportunities. This is to be accomplished by
providing, or paying the costs of, approved technical assistance activities in
those emerging markets. The EMP is administered by the Foreign Agricultural
Service (FAS).
The Act defines an emerging market as any country that the
Secretary of Agriculture determines:
(1) Is taking steps toward a market-oriented economy through
the food, agriculture, or rural business sectors of the economy of the country;
and
(2) Has the potential to provide a viable and significant
market for United States agricultural commodities or products of United States
agricultural commodities.
Because funds are limited and the range of potential emerging
market countries is worldwide, proposals for technical assistance activities
(``proposals'') will be considered which target those countries with: (1) Per
capita income less than $9,265 (the ceiling on upper middle income economies as
determined by the World Bank (World Development Indicators 2001)); and (2)
population greater than 1 million. Proposals may address suitable regional
groupings, e.g., the islands of the Caribbean Basin.
Authority
The EMP is authorized by Section 1542(d)(1)(D) of the Food,
Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, as amended (the Act). Up to
$10 million is available to fund the program.
Eligible Applicants, Commodities, and Activities
Any United States agricultural or agribusiness organization,
university, or state department of agriculture is eligible to participate in the
EMP. Proposals from research and consulting organizations will be considered if
they provide evidence of substantial participation by the U.S. industry. U.S.
market development cooperators may seek funding to address priority, market
specific issues and to undertake activities not suitable for funding under other
FAS marketing programs, e.g. the Foreign Market Development Cooperator Program
and the Market Access Program.
All agricultural products, except tobacco, are eligible for
consideration. Proposals which include multiple commodities are also eligible.
Only technical assistance activities are eligible for
reimbursement. Following are examples of the types of activities that may be
funded:
--Projects designed specifically to improve market access in
emerging foreign markets. Examples: activities intended to mitigate the impact
of sudden political events or economic and currency crises in
order to maintain U.S. market share; responses to time-sensitive market
opportunities;
--Marketing and distribution of value-added products,
including new products or uses. Examples: food service development; market
research on potential for consumer-ready foods or new uses of a product;
--Studies of food distribution channels in emerging markets,
including infrastructural impediments to U.S. exports; such studies should be
specific in their focus and may include cross-commodity activities which focus
on problems, e.g., distribution, which affect more than one industry. Examples:
grain storage handling and inventory systems development; distribution
infrastructure development;
--Projects that specifically address various constraints to
U.S. exports, including sanitary and phytosanitary issues and other non-tariff
barriers. Examples: seminars on U.S. food safety standards and regulations;
assessing and addressing pest and disease problems that inhibit U.S. product
exports;
--Assessments and follow up activities designed to improve
country-wide food and business systems, to reduce trade barriers, to increase
prospects for U.S. trade and investment in emerging markets, and to determine
the potential use for general export credit guarantees for commodities,
facilities and services. Examples: product needs assessments and market
analysis; assessments for using facilities credits to address infrastructural
impediments;
--Projects that help foreign governments collect and use
market information and develop free trade policies that benefit American
exporters as well as the target country or countries. Examples: agricultural
statistical analysis; development of market information systems; policy
analysis;
--Short-term training in broad aspects of agriculture and
agribusiness trade that will benefit U.S. exporters, including seminars and
training at trade shows designed to expand the potential for U.S. agricultural
exports by focusing on the trading system. Examples: retail training; marketing
seminars; transportation seminars; training keyed to opening new or expanding
existing markets.
The Program funds technical assistance activities on a
project-by-project basis. EMP funds may not be used to support normal operating
costs of individual organizations, nor as a source by which to recover
prior expenses from previous or ongoing projects. Ineligible activities include
restaurant promotions; branded product promotions (including labeling and
supplementing normal company sales activities intended to
increase awareness and stimulate sales of branded products); advertising;
administrative and operational expenses for trade shows; and the preparation and
printing of brochures, flyers, posters, etc., except in connection with specific
technical assistance activities such as training seminars. Other items excluded
from funding are contained in the FY 2002 EMP Guidelines.
Project Suitability and Qualification Requirements
The underlying premise of the EMP is that there are
distinctive characteristics of emerging agricultural markets that necessitate or
benefit significantly from U.S. governmental assistance before the private
sector moves to develop these markets through normal corporate or trade
promotional activities. The emphasis is on marketing opportunities where there
are risks that the private sector would not normally undertake alone. The EMP is
intended to supplement, not supplant, the efforts of the U.S. private sector and
it complements the efforts of other FAS marketing programs. Once a market access
issue has been addressed by the EMP, further market development activities may
be considered under other programs such as GSM-102 or GSM-103 credit guarantee
programs, the Facility Guarantee Program, the Supplier Guarantee Program, the
Market Access Program, or the Cooperator Program. Section 108 funds may be used
to complement funding provided
by the EMP.
The following marketing criteria will be used to determine
the suitability of projects for funding under the EMP:
1. Low U.S. market share and significant market potential.
options or resources)?
2. Recent change in a market.
Application Requirements and Process
It is highly recommended that any organization considering
applying to the Program for FY 2002 first obtain a copy of the 2002 Program
Guidelines. These Guidelines contain information on requirements that a proposal
must include in order to be considered for funding under the Program.
Requests for the 2002 EMP Guidelines and additional
information may be obtained from the Marketing Operations Staff at the address
above. The Guidelines are also available at the following URL address: http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/em-markets/em-markets.html.
To assist FAS in making determinations regarding funding,
applications should be no longer than ten (10) pages and include the following
information: (a) Name of organization submitting the proposal; (b) Federal tax
ID number of submitting organization; (c) date of proposal; (d) address,
telephone and fax numbers of the
organization; (e) full title of proposal; (f) constraint description activities
(statement of problem to be addressed); (g) objectives and detailed description
of project approach and specific; (h) benefits to U.S. agricultural exports as a
result of the project, including specific performance measures; (i) target
country/countries for proposed activities; (j) supporting market analysis of the
target market(s)--brief economic analysis for each commodity and country,
including current market conditions and relevant trade data--and existing size
of U.S. export market share, in dollars and/or quantities, and the basis or
source(s) for this data; (k) information on whether similar activities are or
have previously been funded in target country/countries (e.g., under FAS's MAP
and/or FMD programs); (l) a clearly stated explanation as to why participating
organization(s) are unlikely to carry out activities without Federal financial
assistance; (m) projected starting date (should be after 15 July 2002) and time
line(s) for project implementation; (n) detailed, line item project budget,
including other sources of funding and contributions from participating
organizations (additional requirements are contained in the 2002 Program
Guidelines) and any third party contributions. Qualifications of applicant(s)
should be included, but as an attachment.
This notice is complemented by concurrent notices announcing
other foreign market development programs administered by FAS including the
Market Access Program (MAP), the Foreign Market Development Cooperator
(Cooperator) Program, the Section 108 Program, and the Quality Samples Program (QSP).
For FY 2002, EMP applicants have the opportunity to utilize the Unified Export
Strategy (UES) application process, an online system which provides a means for
interested applicants to submit a consolidated and strategically coordinated
single proposal that incorporates funding requests for any or all of these
programs. Applicants are not required to use the UES, but are strongly
encouraged to do so because it reduces paperwork and expedites the FAS
processing and review cycle.
Applicants planning to use the on-line system must contact
the Marketing Operations Staff at (202) 720-4327 to obtain site access
information. A login ID and password will be supplied to a prospective applicant
upon request. A ``Help'' file will be available to assist applicants with the
process. However, the on-line application for the EMP will not be available
until approximately late January. Therefore, all organizations applying for
funding assistance in FY 2002 are urged to begin preparing their applications in
accordance with the requirements contained herein and the FY 2002 Program
Guidelines, and provide this information once the online application is
available. A notice concerning the availability of the online system will be
posted on the FAS web site. A printed version of the proposal should also be
submitted (using WordPerfect, Word or compatible format) to one of the following
addresses:
Hand Delivery (including FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc.):
Marketing Operations Staff, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Room 4932-South,1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC
20250-1042.
U.S. Postal Delivery: Marketing Operations Staff,
Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, STOP 1042, 1400
Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-1042.
Allocation of Funds
In general, all qualified proposals received before the
application deadline will compete for EMP funding. The limited funds and the
range of emerging markets worldwide in which the funds may be used preclude CCC
from approving large budgets for individual projects. While there is no minimum
or maximum amount set for EMP-funded projects, most are funded at a level of
less than $500,000 and for a duration of one year or less. Multi-year proposals
may be considered in the context of a strategic detailed plan of implementation.
Funding in such cases is normally provided one year at a time, with commitments
beyond the first year subject to interim evaluations.
In general, priority consideration will be given to proposals
that identify and seek to address specific problems or constraints in rural
business systems or food and agribusiness systems in emerging markets through
technical assistance activities to expand or maintain U.S. agricultural exports.
Priority will also be given to those proposals that include the willingness of
the applicant to commit its own funds, or those of the U.S. industry, to seek
export opportunities in an emerging market. The percentage of private funding
proposed for a project will therefore be a critical factor in determining which
proposals are funded under the EMP. Proposals will also be judged on their
ability to provide benefits to the organization receiving EMP funds and to the
broader industry which that organization represents.
Reporting Requirements
A performance report detailing the results of each project
supported with EMP funds must be submitted to the Marketing Operations Staff at
the address above. Because public funds are used to support EMP projects, these
reports will be made available to the public. Complete final financial reports
are to accompany performance reports.
Closing Date for Applications
The deadline for all applications to the EMP is 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time, March 11, 2002. Announcements of funding decisions for
the EMP are anticipated sometime after mid-July 2002.
Signed at Washington, DC on December 31, 2001.
Mary T. Chambliss,
Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, and Vice President,
Commodity Credit Corporation.
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