December 2006

USDA Farm Service Agency's (FSA) 2005 Hurricanes Tropical Fruit Program (TFP) provides financial assistance for carambola, longan, lychee and mango producers who suffered crop production losses, including related clean-up costs, resulting from hurricanes Katrina, Ophelia, Rita or Wilma in 2005. Producers in certain counties of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas may be eligible for the program.

The Emergency Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2006, Public Law 109-234 (the Act), enacted June 2006, authorizes TFP. Under the Act, USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) will provide up to $95 million in benefits to producers through the TFP, Citrus, Nursery, and Fruit and Vegetable programs created by the Act. FSA administers TFP on behalf of CCC.

Eligible TFP counties are those declared natural disaster areas by President Bush or designated primary disaster or emergency areas by Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns during the 2005 calendar year due to hurricanes Katrina, Ophelia, Rita and/or Wilma. Counties contiguous to a primary county are also eligible. Counties declared disaster areas by Hurricane Dennis are ineligible for TFP because these disaster losses were not provided for in the Act. A complete list of eligible counties is found in the PDF version (458 KB) of this fact sheet, CLICK HERE.

Producers of carambola, longan, lychee and mangos must have suffered a 50 percent or greater loss in commercial production to be eligible for TFP.

In addition, the operations must be located in one of two tiers developed by CCC. The tiers are delineated maps and available at local FSA Service Center.

To receive TFP benefits, producers must submit the following to the local FSA Service Center:

CCC will calculate payments by multiplying the number of affected acres times the payment rate times the producer's share of the crop. The payment rate for insured or Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) covered tropical fruit is a flat rate of $5,000 per acre. The rate for uninsured, or acreage without NAP coverage, is $4,750 per acre.

Producers may receive a maximum of $80,000 in combined benefits from the TFP, Citrus, Fruit and Vegetable, and Nursery programs created by the Act. Producers cannot receive duplicate federal program payments for the same losses due to the 2005 hurricanes.

Producers receiving TFP payments must purchase crop insurance for the next available period if they did not purchase crop insurance on an insurable crop, or NAP on an uninsurable crop.

Producers must purchase either:

If a producer who is required to purchase crop insurance or NAP coverage for the applicable year fails to do so, the producer must refund any disaster payment made under TFP.

Sign-up for TFP begins Dec. 11, 2006, and ends Feb. 2, 2007. Producers must submit applications and supporting documentation to the FSA office serving the county where the eligible loss occurred.

For more information about FSA and its programs, visit your local USDA Service Center or online at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of Discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.