US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced US$30m in funding for 22 projects to help citrus producers combat Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening, a devastating citrus disease that threatens the country's citrus production.
The money will fund promising projects that could offer near-term solutions as well as research funding that may develop long-terms solutions to combat the disease.
The promising near-term tools and solutions are funded through the HLB Multiagency Coordination Group while the research projects are funded through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative Citrus Disease Research and Education (CDRE) programme, which is made available through the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill).
'Our HLB Multi-Agency Coordination Group has worked closely with the citrus industry to select and fund projects that we think will make a real difference for growers against HLB,' said Vilsack.
'Funding these projects through cooperative agreements puts us one step closer to putting real tools to fight this disease into the hands of citrus growers.' he continued, 'Through the CDRE research we are announcing today, we are also investing in long-term solutions to diseases that threaten the long-term survival of the citrus industry.'
Click here for a full breakdown of where the funding is going and what the projects consist of.
