The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) awards funds to recipients under
the USDA Local and Regional Food Aid Procurement Program (USDA LRP
Program). The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the “2008
Farm Bill”), as amended by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the “2014
Farm Bill”), provides that the Secretary of Agriculture will
provide grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements with,
eligible organizations to implement field-based projects that
consist of local or regional procurements of eligible commodities
in developing countries to provide development assistance and
respond to food crises and disasters, in the case of emergencies,
in consultation with United States Agency for International
Development’s (USAID) Office of Food for Peace. The intended
effects of the USDA LRP Program are to support development
activities aimed at strengthening the trade capacity of
food-insecure developing countries and to address the cause of
chronic food insecurity.
The collected
information is needed to evaluate an applicant’s eligibility and to
determine the feasibility of the proposed operation. The type of
information to be collected will largely mirror the information
currently collected under the McGovern-Dole. Under the LRP Program,
information will be gathered from applicants desiring to receive
grants or enter into cooperative agreements to determine the
viability of requests for resources to implement activities in
foreign countries. Recipients of grants or cooperative agreements
under the LRP Program must submit performance and financial reports
until funds provided by FAS and commodities purchased with such
funds are utilized. We are requesting emergency approval of the new
information collection package by March 9, 2016, in order to start
the program effective immediately upon publication of the final
rule.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.