CDFA ANNOUNCES SECOND GRANT SOLICITATION PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR SUSTAINABLE CALIFORNIA GROWN CANNABIS PILOT STUDY

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SACRAMENTO, July 11, 2022 - The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is now accepting a second round of public comment on a draft Request for Grant Application (RGA) for the Sustainable California Grown Cannabis pilot study (SCGC).  Comments will be accepted through August 5, 2022, by 5 p.m. PST.
 
The draft RGA is available for review and public comment at the following link: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/scgc 
 
•         Public comments are due August 5, 2022, by 5 p.m. PST. Late submissions will not be accepted.
•         Public comments can be submitted by email to CannabisAg@cdfa.ca.gov or by mail to:
California Department of Food and Agriculture, Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation, 1220 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.
 
CDFA will hold a workshop to provide information on the draft RGA and discuss changes made to the original draft. Participants may attend, at no cost, by registering for webinar access:
•         Thursday, July 28, 2022, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m. PST
•         Registration link: Webinar Registration - Zoom
 
One of the goals of regulating cannabis in California is to assess potential environmental benefits that may be associated with cultivation. Greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction, sustainable land use, and soil health benefits are some of these. The SCGC pilot study will fund projects to collect data from the industry to determine best management practices for outdoor cannabis cultivation.
 
Funds will be awarded through a competitive grant process and distributed to not-for-profits, academic institutions, Resource Conservation Districts, Federal and California-recognized Native American Indian Tribes, and local cultivator organizations in collaboration with California entities eligible for the pilot study. CDFA encourages applications from organizations that serve small- to medium-sized and socially disadvantaged California food producers and farm workers, including but not limited to BIMPOC (Black, Indigenous, Multiracial, and People of Color), LGBTQ+, women, and veterans.
 
CDFA released the initial draft RGA on March 14, 2022. On April 12, 2022, CDFA hosted an informational workshop to provide an overview of program guidelines and application materials. The webinar also provided an opportunity for the public to provide comments on the draft application materials. Written comments on the draft RGA were submitted to the Department on April 14, 2022. 

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