Food for Progress Program | USDA FAS FFPR 17

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FAS FFPR 17

The Food for Progress Program is a U.S. Department of Agriculture initiative, administered through the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), that supports agricultural development in developing countries and emerging democracies that are working to introduce or expand free enterprise in their agricultural sectors. The core approach is commodity-based assistance: the program donates U.S. agricultural commodities to eligible partner countries, and those commodities are typically "monetized," meaning they are sold in the recipient country's local market. The revenue generated from those sales is then used to finance on-the-ground agricultural development activities. In practice, this structure is designed to turn a commodity donation into longer-term investments that strengthen agricultural systems, improve productivity, and support market-oriented reforms.

This particular opportunity was offered as a discretionary funding opportunity under a Cooperative Agreement, which usually signals an award structure where the federal agency expects substantial involvement during implementation (for example, coordination on planning, monitoring, and compliance). The funding opportunity title is Food for Progress Program, and it was published under Funding Opportunity Number USDA FAS FFPR 17, with a CFDA number of 10.606. The posting indicates an original closing date of January 19, 2017, and a creation date of October 24, 2016. While the award ceiling is not listed in the provided details, the opportunity anticipated making about six awards.

The eligible applicant pool is broad and includes organizations and entities typically positioned to manage international development projects tied to agriculture and markets. Specifically, eligible applicants include private voluntary organizations, cooperatives, intergovernmental organizations, and foreign governments, grouped under the eligibility label "Others." This reflects the program's practical needs: implementing organizations must be able to handle commodity logistics and local-market monetization arrangements, while also designing and delivering development activities that align with the program's policy goals around agricultural commercialization and free enterprise.

In terms of focus areas, the opportunity is categorized across several related domains: Agriculture, Community Development, Employment, Labor and Training, Food and Nutrition, and Regional Development. That mix hints at the kinds of projects Food for Progress often supports, such as strengthening agricultural value chains, improving agribusiness skills and farmer training, expanding access to markets, supporting producer organizations or cooperatives, and building institutions that help agriculture function more competitively. Because the development funding in many cases comes from monetization proceeds, projects are generally structured to connect commodity sales with measurable investments in the agricultural economy, rather than functioning only as short-term food assistance.

Overall, this grant opportunity can be understood as a development-oriented commodity donation program: U.S. commodities are provided to partner countries with reform-minded agricultural agendas, sold locally to generate funds, and then the proceeds are reinvested into activities meant to modernize and expand market-based agriculture. The intended outcome is not just increased production, but stronger agricultural markets and institutions that support private enterprise and longer-term economic development.

• The Foreign Agricultural Service in the agriculture, community development, employment, labor and training, food and nutrition, regional development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Food for Progress Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.606.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-10-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-01-19. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA FAS FFPR 17

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