Foreign Agricultural Service Seeks OMB Extension for Emerging Markets Program Information Collection

The Foreign Agricultural Service operating within the Department of Agriculture published a notice in the Federal Register on November 4 2026. The agency announced its intention to request an extension from the Office of Management and Budget for a currently approved information collection titled the Emerging Markets Program. The collection carries OMB Control Number 0551-0048 and the current approval is scheduled to expire. Public comments on the notice must be received by January 4 2027 to ensure consideration by the agency.

Background and Statutory Authority

The request is processed under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This federal law requires federal agencies to obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget before collecting information from the public. The Emerging Markets Program itself relies on specific statutory authorities to provide grants to entities seeking to evaluate and develop agricultural export markets in developing countries. Recipients of these grants must submit performance and financial reports as mandated by program regulations found in Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 1486.

Burden Estimates and Respondent Scope

The Foreign Agricultural Service estimates that the information collection impacts approximately fifty respondents per annum. These respondents include private organizations, agricultural cooperatives, universities, state departments of agriculture, federal agencies, non-profit organizations, and export trade associations. Each respondent is estimated to submit an average of five responses per year. The public reporting burden varies depending on the number and type of agreements entered into by each participant. The agency calculates the average reporting burden at 8.4 hours per response resulting in a total estimated annual burden of 2100 hours.

Administrative Details and Public Participation

Interested stakeholders and members of the public can submit comments regarding the necessity of the information collection, the accuracy of the agency burden estimate, methods to enhance information quality, and strategies to minimize the reporting burden. Submissions can be made via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov, through designated email channels, or by mail directed to Curt Alt at the Department of Agriculture. All received comments will become a matter of public record and remain available for online inspection.