United States-Israel Agriculture Cooperation Improvement and Expansion Act

(1) the United States-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (referred to in this section as the BARD Fund)—

(A) was established in 1977; and

(B) is a competitive funding program that supports collaborative agricultural research in areas of mutual interest to the United States and Israel;

(2) the primary mission of the BARD Fund is to bring together United States and Israeli scientists to jointly address key agricultural and food production challenges that concern both countries;

(3) since its establishment, the BARD Fund has approved more than 1,300 research projects, with a total investment of $315,000,000 that has gained $16 for every $1 spent; and

(4) research funded by the BARD Fund has led to new agricultural practices, commercial engagements, patents, and breeding rights licenses, which serve as a growth engine to the United States and Israeli economies.

(1) in paragraph (1), by striking entered into and inserting as entered into in 1977;

(2) in paragraph (2)—

(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking and at the end;

(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking sector. and inserting sector in the United States, Israel, signatories of the Abraham Accords Declaration, done at Washington September 15, 2020, Arab States that have normalized relations with Israel, and other interested nations; and; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

(C) support mid-stage research to advance cooperative agricultural research projects of mutual interest to the United States and Israel.

(C) ; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

There is authorized to be appropriated to the BARD Fund to carry out activities under this subsection $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.

In this section:

The term eligible commodity means an agricultural commodity (or the product of an agricultural commodity) that—

(A) is produced in, and procured from, a developing country; and

(B) at a minimum, meets each nutritional, quality, and labeling standard of the country that receives the agricultural commodity, as determined by the Secretary.

The term eligible organization means an organization that—

(A) is a private voluntary organization or cooperative or intergovernmental organization; and

(B) partners with an Israeli institution to carry out a field-based project under this section.

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.

The Secretary shall establish a program to provide grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements with, eligible organizations to carry out, in partnership with Israeli institutions, field-based projects in foreign countries that enable local or regional procurement of eligible commodities to respond to food shortages, with an emphasis on developing long-term, sustainable, self-sufficient food ecosystems.

To be eligible to receive a grant from, or enter into a cooperative agreement with, the Secretary under this section, an eligible organization shall submit to the Secretary an application by such date, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.

Subject to clause (ii) and subparagraph (B), in selecting proposals for field-based projects to fund under this section, the Secretary shall select a diversity of projects, including—

(I) projects located in food surplus regions;

(II) projects located in food deficit regions that are carried out using regional procurement methods; and

(III) projects located in multiple geographical regions.

In selecting proposals for field-based projects to fund under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that the majority of selected proposals are for field-based projects that—

(I) are located in Africa; and

(II) procure eligible commodities that are produced in Africa.

A portion of the funds made available to carry out this section shall be made available for field-based projects under this section that provide development assistance for a period of not less than 1 year.

In selecting proposals for field-based projects to fund under this section, the Secretary may give preference to eligible organizations that receive, or are working toward receiving, assistance to carry out projects under the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program established under section 3107 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 1736o–1).

Any eligible commodity that is procured for a field-based project carried out under this section shall be procured through any approach or methodology that the Secretary considers to be an effective approach or methodology to provide adequate information regarding the manner by which to expedite, to the maximum extent practicable, the provision of food aid to affected populations without significantly increasing commodity costs for low-income consumers who procure commodities sourced from the same markets in which the eligible commodity is procured.

The Secretary shall ensure that the local or regional procurement of any eligible commodity under this section will not have a disruptive impact on farmers located in, or the economy of—

(i) the recipient country of the eligible commodity; or

(ii) any country in the region in which the eligible commodity may be procured.

The Secretary shall, in accordance with such terms and conditions as the Secretary considers to be appropriate, require from each eligible organization seeking a grant or cooperative agreement under this section commitments designed to prevent or restrict—

(i) the resale or transshipment of any eligible commodity procured under this section to any country other than the recipient country; and

(ii) the use of the eligible commodity for any purpose other than food aid.

In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall take any precaution that the Secretary considers to be reasonable to ensure that the procurement of eligible commodities will not unduly disrupt—

(I) world prices for agricultural commodities; or

(II) normal patterns of commercial trade with foreign countries.

The procurement of any eligible commodity shall be made at a reasonable market price with respect to the economy of the country in which the eligible commodity is procured, as determined by the Secretary.

An eligible organization receiving a grant or entering into a cooperative agreement under this section that is a nongovernmental organization shall be subject to regulations promulgated or guidelines issued by the Secretary to carry out this section, including United States audit requirements that are applicable to nongovernmental organizations.

Each year, the Secretary shall submit to the committees of Congress described in paragraph (2) a report that describes the use of funds under this section, including—

(A) the impact of procurements and projects on—

(i) local and regional agricultural producers; and

(ii) markets and consumers, including low-income consumers; and

(B) implementation time frames and costs.

The committees of Congress referred to in paragraph (1) are—

(A) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate;

(B) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives; and

(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.

There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.