The U.S. Department of Agriculture had added an online portal for growers submitting applications for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.
Currently, the digital application is available only to sole proprietors or single-member business entities.
The USDA’s Farm Service Agency processes the documents for the program and the online portal will expand options for producers.
The Farm Service Agency is “leveraging commercial document storage and e-signature solutions” through the process, according to a news release.
“We are doing everything we can to serve our customers and make sure agricultural producers impacted by the pandemic can quickly and securely apply for this relief program,” FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce said in the release. “In addition to working with FSA staff through the phone, e-mail and scheduled in-person appointments, we can now also take applications through the farmers.gov portal, which saves producers and our staff time.”
Growers that don’t have an eAuthentication account can begin the enrollment process at https://www.farmers.gov/sign-in.
Growers who want to digitally sign applications should tell their local service centers when contacting them to sign up for the CFAP funds, which are direct payments to producers affected by the COVIID-19 pandemic.
Other ways of to apply for CFAP are:
- Downloading an application form from farmers.gov/cfap and submitting it a local USDA Service Center; and
- Completing the application form using the CFAP Application Generator and Payment Calculator at farmers.gov/cfap, and submitting it to the local center.
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