Federal Register Notices
[Federal
Register: May 11, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 90)]
[Notices]
[Page 26188-26191]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11my10-40]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Commodity Credit Corporation
Notice of Funds Availability: Inviting
Applications for the Emerging Markets Program
Announcement Type: New.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 10.603.
SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)
announces that it is inviting proposals
for the 2011 Emerging Markets Program (EMP). The
intended effect of this notice is to solicit
applications from the private sector and from
government agencies for FY 2011. The EMP is
administered by personnel of the Foreign
Agricultural Service (FAS).
DATES: All proposals must be received by 5 p.m.
Eastern Daylight Time, June 11, 2010.
Applications received after this time will be
considered only if funds are still available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Entities
wishing to apply for funding assistance
should contact the Program Operations Division,
Office of Trade Programs, Foreign Agricultural
Service, Portals Office Building, Suite 400,
1250 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20024,
or by phone: (202) 720-4327, or by fax: (202)
720-9361, or by e-mail:
podadmin@fas.usda.gov.
Information is also available on the Foreign
Agricultural Service Web site at
http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/em-markets/em-markets.asp.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Authority: The EMP is authorized by section 1542(d)(1) of the
Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of
1990 (The Act), as amended. The EMP regulations
appear at 7 CFR part 1486.
1. Purpose. The EMP assists U.S. entities in developing,
maintaining, or expanding exports of U.S.
agricultural commodities and products by funding
activities that improve emerging markets' food
and rural business systems, including reducing
potential trade barriers in such markets. The
EMP is intended primarily to support export
market development efforts of the private
sector, but EMP resources may also be used to
assist public organizations.
All U.S. agricultural commodities, except tobacco, are
eligible for consideration. Agricultural
product(s) should be comprised of at least 50
percent U.S. origin content by weight, exclusive
of added water, to be eligible for funding.
Proposals that seek support for multiple
commodities are also eligible. EMP funding may
only be used to develop, maintain, or expand
emerging markets for U.S. agricultural
commodities and products through generic
activities. EMP funding may not be used to
support the export of another country's products
to the United States, or to promote the
development of a foreign economy as a primary
objective. Funding provided for government
participation may only be used to support the
activities of government officials expert in
assessing the food and rural business systems of
other countries.
2. Appropriate Activities. All EMP projects must fall into at
least one of the following four categories:
(a) Assistance to U.S. individuals expert in assessing the
food and rural business systems of other
countries. This type of EMP project must include
all three of the following:
- Conduct an assessment of the food and
rural business system needs of an emerging
market;
- Make recommendations on measures
necessary to enhance the effectiveness of
these systems; and
- Identify opportunities and projects to
enhance the effectiveness of the emerging
market's food and rural business systems.
(b) To be eligible, such proposals must clearly demonstrate
that
experts are primarily agricultural consultants,
farmers, government
officials, and other persons from the private
sector, and that they
have expertise in assessing the food and rural
business systems of
other countries.
(c) Assistance to enable individuals from emerging markets to
travel to the United States so that these
individuals can, for the
purpose of enhancing the food and rural business
systems in their
countries, become familiar with U.S. technology
and agribusiness and
rural enterprise operations by consulting with
food and rural business
system experts in the United States.
(d) Assistance to enable U.S. agricultural producers and
other
individuals knowledgeable in agricultural and
agribusiness matters to
travel to emerging markets to assist in
transferring their knowledge
and expertise to entities in emerging markets.
Such travel must be to
emerging markets. Travel to developed markets is
not eligible under the
program even if the traveler's targeted market
is an emerging market.
(e) Technical assistance to implement the recommendations,
projects, and/or opportunities identified by
assistance under (1)
above. Technical assistance that does not
implement the
recommendations, projects, and/or opportunities
identified by
assistance under (1) above is not eligible under
the EMP.
Proposals that do not fall into one or more of the four
categories
above, regardless of previous guidance provided
regarding the EMP, are
not eligible for consideration under the
program.
EMP funds may not be used to support normal operating costs
of
individual organizations, nor as a source to
recover pre-award costs or
prior expenses from previous or ongoing
projects. Proposals that
counter national strategies or duplicate
activities planned or already
underway by U.S. non-profit agricultural
commodity or trade
associations (``cooperators'') will not be
considered. Other ineligible
expenditures include: branded product promotions
(in-store, restaurant
advertising, labeling, etc.); advertising,
administrative, and
operational expenses for trade shows; Web site
development; equipment
purchases; and the preparation and printing of
brochures, flyers, and
posters (except in connection with specific
technical assistance
activities such as training seminars.). For a
more complete description
of ineligible expenditures, please refer to the
EMP regulations.
3. Eligible Markets. The Act defines an emerging market as
any
country that the Secretary of Agriculture
determines:
(a) Is taking steps toward developing a market-oriented
economy
through the food, agriculture, or rural business
sectors of the economy
of the country; and
(b) Has the potential to provide a viable and significant
market
for U.S. agricultural commodities or products of
U.S. agricultural
commodities.
Because EMP funds are limited and the range of potential
emerging
market countries is worldwide, consideration
will be given only to
proposals that target countries or regional
groups with per capita
income of less than $11,905 (the current ceiling
on upper middle income
economies as determined by the World Bank [World
Development
Indicators;
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/CLASS.XLS] July
2009, and
populations of greater than 1
million.
Income limits and their calculation can change from year to
year
with the result that a given country may qualify
under the legislative
and administrative criteria 1 year but not the
next. Therefore, CCC has
not established a fixed list of emerging market
countries.
A few countries technically qualify as emerging markets but
may
require a separate determination before funding
can be considered
because of political sensitivities.
II. Award Information
In general, all qualified proposals received before the
application
deadline will compete for EMP funding. Priority
consideration will be
given to proposals that directly support or
address at least one of the
goals and objectives in the USDA and FAS
Strategic Plans. The
applicants' willingness to contribute resources,
including cash, goods
and services will be a critical factor in
determining which proposals
are funded under the EMP. Proposals will also be
judged on the
potential benefits to the industry represented
by the applicant and the
degree to which the proposal demonstrates
industry support.
The limited funds and the range of eligible emerging markets
worldwide generally preclude CCC from approving
large budgets for
individual projects. While there is no minimum
or maximum amount set
for EMP-funded projects, most projects are
funded at a level of less
than $500,000 and for a duration of
approximately 1 year. Private
entities may submit multi-year proposals
requesting higher levels of
funding that may be considered in the context of
a detailed strategic
implementation plan. Funding in such cases is
generally limited to 3
years and provided 1 year at a time with
commitments beyond the first
year subject to interim evaluations and funding
availability.
Government entities are not eligible for
multi-year funding.
Funding for successful proposals will be provided through
specific
agreements. The CCC, through FAS, will be kept
informed of the
implementation of approved projects through the
requirement to provide
interim progress reports and final performance
reports. Changes in the
original project timelines and adjustments
within project budgets must
be approved in advance by FAS.
Note: EMP funds awarded to government agencies must be
expended or
otherwise obligated by close of business,
September 30, 2011.
III. Eligibility and Qualification Information
1. Eligible Applicants: Any United States private or
government
entity, e.g., universities, non-profit trade
associations, agricultural
cooperatives, state regional trade groups (SRTG),
profit-making
entities, and consulting businesses, with a
demonstrated role or
interest in exports of U.S. agricultural
commodities or products may
apply to the program. Proposals from research
and consulting
organizations will be considered if they provide
evidence of
substantial participation by and financial
support from the U.S.
industry. For-profit entities are also eligible
but may not use program
funds to conduct private business, promote
private self-interests,
supplement the costs of normal sales activities
or promote their own
products or services beyond specific uses
approved by CCC in a given
project.
U.S. market development cooperators and SRTGs may seek
funding to
address priority, market specific issues and to
undertake activities
not suitable for funding under other CCC
marketing programs, e.g., the
Foreign Market Development Cooperator
(Cooperator) Program and the
Market Access Program (MAP). Foreign
organizations, whether government
or private, may participate as third parties in
activities carried out
by U.S. organizations, but are not eligible for
funding assistance from
the program.
2. Cost Sharing: No private sector proposal will be
considered
without the element of cost-share from the
applicant and/or U.S.
partners. The EMP is intended to complement, not
supplant, the efforts
of the U.S. private sector. There is no minimum
or maximum amount of
cost-share, though the range in recent
successful proposals has been
between 35 and 75 percent. The degree of
commitment to a proposed
project, represented by the amount and type of
private funding, is one
factor used in determining which proposals will
be approved for
funding. Cost-share may be actual cash invested
or professional time of
staff assigned to the project. Proposals for
which private industry is
willing to commit cash, rather than in-kind
contributions such as staff
resources, will be given priority consideration.
Cost-sharing is not required for proposals from government
agencies, but is mandatory for all other
eligible entities, even when
they may be party to a joint proposal with a
government agency.
Contributions from USDA or other government
agencies or programs may
not be counted toward the stated cost-share
requirement of other
applicants. Similarly, contributions from
foreign (non-U.S.)
organizations may not be counted toward the
cost-share requirement, but
may be counted in the total cost of the project.
3. Other: Proposals should include a justification for
funding
assistance from the program--an explanation as
to what specifically
could not be accomplished without Federal
funding assistance and why
the participating organization(s) would be
unlikely to carry out the
project without such assistance. Applicants may
submit more than one
proposal.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: EMP applicants
have the
opportunity to utilize the Unified Export
Strategy (UES) application
process, an online system that provides a means
for interested
applicants to submit a consolidated and
strategically coordinated
single proposal that incorporates funding
requests for any or all of
the market development programs administered by
FAS.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their
application to
FAS through the UES application Internet Web
site. The Internet-based
format reduces paperwork and expedites the FAS
processing and review
cycle. Applicants planning to use the on-line
UES system must contact
the Program Operations Division to obtain site
access information. The
Internet-based application is located at the
following URL address:
https://www.fas.usda.gov/ues/webapp/.
Although FAS highly recommends applying via the
Internet-based
application as this format virtually eliminates
paperwork and expedites
the FAS processing and review cycle, applicants
also have the option of submitting an electronic
version to FAS at
podadmin@fas.usda.gov.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: To be
considered for
the EMP, an applicant must submit to the FAS
information required by
the EMP regulations at 7 CFR part 1486. EMP
regulations and additional
information are available at the following URL
address:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/em-markets/em-markets.asp.
In addition, in accordance with the Office of Management and
Budget's issuance of a final policy (68 FR
38402) regarding the need to
identify entities that are receiving government
awards, all applicants
must submit a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal
Numbering System (DUNS)
number. An applicant may request a DUNS number
at no cost by calling
the dedicated toll-free DUNS number request line
on 1-866-705-5711.
Applications should be no longer than ten (10) pages and
include
the following information:
(a) Date of proposal;
(b) Name of organization submitting proposal;
(c) Organization address, telephone and fax numbers;
(d) Tax ID number;
(e) DUNS number;
(f) Primary contact person;
(g) Full title of proposal;
(h) Target market(s);
(i) Current conditions in the target market(s) affecting the
intended commodity or product;
(j) Description of problem(s), i.e., constraint(s), to be
addressed
by the project, such as the need to assess and
enhance food and rural
business systems of the emerging market, lack of
awareness by foreign
officials of U.S. technology and business
practices, impediments
(infrastructure, financing, regulatory or other
non-tariff barriers) to
the effectiveness of emerging market's food and
rural business systems
previously identified by an EMP project that are
to be addressed by the
applicant, etc.;
(k) Project objectives;
(l) Performance measures: Benchmarks for quantifying progress
in
meeting the objectives;
(m) Rationale: Explanation of the underlying reasons for the
project proposal and its approach, the
anticipated benefits, and any
additional pertinent analysis;
(n) Clear demonstration that successful implementation will
benefit
an emerging market's food and rural business
system and/or reduce
potential trade barriers, and will benefit a
particular industry as a whole, not just the applicant(s);
(o) Explanation as to what specifically could not be
accomplished
without Federal funding assistance and why the
participating
organization(s) would be unlikely to carry out
the project without such
assistance;
(p) Specific description of activity/activities to be
undertaken;
(q) Timeline(s) for implementation of activity, including
start and
end dates;
(r) Information on whether similar activities are or have
previously been funded with USDA resources in
target country or
countries (e.g., under MAP and/or Cooperator
programs); and
(s) Detailed line item activity budget:
--Cost items should be allocated separately to
each participating
organization; and
--Expense items constituting a proposed
activity's overall budget
(e.g., salaries, travel expenses, consultant
fees, administrative
costs, etc.), with a line item cost for each,
should be listed, clearly
indicating:
(1) Which items are to be covered by EMP funding;
(2) Which by the participating U.S. organization(s); and
(3) Which by foreign third parties (if applicable).
Cost items for individual consultant fees should show
calculation
of daily rate and number of days. Cost items for
travel expenses should
show number of trips, destinations, cost, and
objective for each trip.
Qualifications of applicant(s) should be included as an
attachment.
3. Funding Restrictions: Certain types of expenses are not
eligible
for reimbursement by the program, and there are
limits on other
categories of expenses such as indirect overhead
charges, travel
expenses, and consulting fees. CCC will also not
reimburse unreasonable
expenditures or expenditures made prior to
approval of a proposal. Full
details of the funding restrictions are
available in the EMP
regulations.
4. Submission Dates and Times: All Internet-based
applications must
be properly submitted by 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight
Time, June 11, 2010. All applications submitted by e-mail must be received by 5
p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, June 11, 2010, at
podadmin@fas.usda.gov.
Applications received after this time will be considered only
if
funds are still available.
V. Application Review Information
1. Criteria: Key criteria used in judging proposals include,
among
others:
--The objective of the activities is to develop,
maintain, or expand
markets for United States agricultural exports
by improving the
effectiveness of the food and rural business
systems in emerging
markets.
Appropriateness of the activities for the targeted market(s)
and
the extent to which the project identifies
market barriers, e.g., a
fundamental deficiency in the market's food and
rural business systems,
and/or a recent change in those systems;
--Potential of the project to expand U.S. market
share and increase
U.S. exports or sales;
--Quality of the project's performance measures,
and the degree to
which they relate to the objectives,
deliverables, and proposed
approach and activities;
--Justification for Federal funding;
--Overall cost of the project and the amount of
funding provided by the
applicant and any partners; and
--Evidence that the organization has the
knowledge, expertise, ability,
and resources to successfully implement the
project, including
timeliness and quality of reporting on past EMP
activities.
Please see 7 CFR part 1486 for additional evaluation
criteria.
2. Review and Selection Process: All applications undergo a
multi-phase review within FAS, by appropriate FAS
field offices, and, as
needed, by the private sector Advisory Committee
on Emerging Markets to
determine the qualifications, quality,
appropriateness of projects, and
reasonableness of project budgets.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: FAS will notify each applicant in writing
of the
final disposition of its application. FAS will
send an approval letter
and project agreement to each approved
applicant. The approval letter
and agreement will specify the terms and
conditions applicable to the
project, including the levels of EMP funding and
cost-share
contribution requirements.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements:
Interested
parties should review the EMP regulations, which
are available at the
following URL address:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/mos/em-markets/em-markets.asp.
3. Reporting. Quarterly progress reports for all programs 1
year or
longer in duration are required. Projects of
less than 1 year generally
require a mid-term progress report. Final
performance reports are due
90 days after completion of each project.
Content requirements for both
types of reports are contained in the Project
Agreement. Final
financial reports are also due 90 days after
completion of each project as attachments to the
final reports. Please
see 7 CFR part 1486 for additional reporting
requirements.
VII. Agency Contact(s)
For additional information and assistance, contact the
Program
Operations Division, Office of Trade Programs,
Foreign Agricultural
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Portals
Office Building, Suite
400, 1250 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC
20024, or by phone:
(202) 720-4327, or by fax: (202) 720-9361, or by
e-mail:
podadmin@fas.usda.gov.
Signed at Washington, DC, on May 4, 2010.
John D. Brewer,
Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service and
Vice President,
Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2010-11146 Filed 5-10-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-10-P
