DACF presents AIIP applicant‑pool analysis showing large unmet agricultural infrastructure demand

Claire Hawkins, director of economic development for the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, told the Maine Agriculture, Food and Forest Products Infrastructure Fund advisory board on March 26 that an analysis of the Agricultural Infrastructure Investment Program (AIIP) applicant pool shows demand that far outstripped available funding.

The AIIP solicitation, funded through the Maine Jobs and Recovery Program using American Rescue Plan Act dollars, allocated about $20,000,000 for agricultural processing infrastructure. DACF and its third‑party administrator CEI received more than 800 eligible proposals that cumulatively requested roughly $180,000,000, Hawkins said; DACF made 64 awards totaling about $19,300,000.

The analysis concentrated on terrestrial agriculture and did not include aquaculture, seafood or forestry, Hawkins said. She described the slide deck shared with the board as a first synthesis of a roughly 60‑page report and said DACF plans to consider sharing the full report with advisory board members for deeper review.

Hawkins said the applicant pool was geographically concentrated:…