Value-Added Producer Grants
Welcome to the Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG) (formerly known as the Value-Added Development Grants) home page. Here you will find information on this program including eligibility requirements, eligible and ineligible uses of grant funds, proposal preparation, and the criteria that will be used to evaluate submitted proposals. Here is where you will also find what, when, and where to submit proposals.
The VAPG Program was authorized by the Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000 and was amended by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, better known as the 2002 Farm Bill. The 2002 Farm Bill establishes four related, but different, programs that are funded from a pool of $40 million per year. The programs are (1) VAPG, (2) the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC), (3) Agricultural Innovation Centers (AIC), and (4) the Value-Added University Research Grant. This portion of the website deals only with the VAPG Program.
In the past two years (2001 and 2002), the VAPG Program has requested applications via a Notice of Funds Available (NOFA). However, it is necessary to draft a regulation to govern the program before further funds can be awarded. The proposed regulation has been published in the Federal Register. The public is invited to submit comments through August 12, 2003. Once RBS has reviewed the comments and made any changes to the proposed regulation, the final regulation will be published in the Federal Register. Also at that time, a NOFA or a Request for Proposals (RFP) will be published in the Federal Register. RBS currently expects the NOFA or RFP to be published during the fall of 2003.
If you have questions about the VAPG Program, please contact your State Rural Development Office to obtain additional information and assistance. A contact person, address, phone number, and e-mail address for each State Office is posted on this site.