On Wednesday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Gary McDowell announced the latest round of state grant match grants will double the amount of funding available to Michigan’s farming and agriculture sector. The Food and Agriculture Investment Program (FAIP) has seen substantial growth year over year over the last two years. The grants are expected to create an estimated 295 jobs, more than four times as many as last year, and bring in $154 million to Michigan’s growing economy, 45% more than last fiscal year.
“As Michigan’s economic momentum continues to build, my goal is to ensure every region of our state has an opportunity to succeed, and these grants from the Food and Agriculture Investment Program will help us do just that, bringing in $48 million to create at least 225 new jobs across Michigan,” said Whitmer. “Recently, I signed my fourth balanced, bipartisan state budget, which sets aside dedicated resources for food and agriculture economic development. These grants and our state budget will help us continue growing Michigan’s economy, creating good-paying jobs, and bringing investment to every region of our great state.”
The FAIP provides financial support for food and agriculture projects that help expand food and agriculture processing to enable growth in the industry and Michigan’s economy.
“The Food and Agriculture Investment Program allows our food and agriculture industry to grow while helping move Michigan forward,” said McDowell. “I’m thrilled we are increasing our financial support for food and ag businesses across our state while increasing access to good-paying jobs for Michiganders. This further demonstrates why Michigan is and will continue to be an agriculture powerhouse.”
The Food and Agriculture Investment Program provides financial support to expand the Michigan food and agriculture sector, grow Michigan exports, and increase food processing activities within the state.
Projects are selected based on their investment in the overall agriculture industry and their impact on Michigan’s food and agriculture growth.
The Food and Agriculture Investment Program is available to:
• Small, medium, and large food, agriculture, and forest product companies.
• Others investing in or expanding food, agriculture, or forest products operations in Michigan.
The Food and Agriculture Investment Program is a performance-based grant. Companies or organizations put forward their investment plan, demonstrate financing and due diligence on the project, carry out the project, and submit a reimbursement amount per the grant agreement when the investment project is completed. For additional information about the Food and Agriculture Investment Program, visit www.michigan.gov/mdard/business-development/grantfund/food-and-agriculture-investment-fund-grants.
