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Agriculture officials outline FY2025–26 requests; lawmakers press on recovery projects, accounts receivable and school‑meal payments
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Summary
Department of Agriculture leaders told the House Finance Committee on May 9 that their FY2025–26 request includes about $38.46 million in general‑fund support (consolidated $42.9M) and emphasized priorities including an agro‑profile, youth farm access and recovery project completion.
Top leaders from Puerto Rico’s Department of Agriculture and its component agencies appeared before the House Finance Committee on May 9 to summarize budget requests for FY2025–26, give an update on federal recovery and grant awards, and answer lawmakers’ questions about accounts receivable, project schedules and program delivery.
Secretary Josué Rivera Castro opened with a high‑level summary: the department requested about $38.46 million in general‑fund support and a consolidated budget of roughly $42.9 million. He outlined program priorities including an agricultural statistics and economics office, a digital farmer profile ("agroperfil") to inventory land and producer data, support for youth and women farmers, seed and germplasm work, and efforts to increase local food production and market linkages.
Authority of Lands: arrears and recovery projects Agrónoma Elga Méndez Soto, director executive of the Authority of Lands (Autoridad de Tierras), told the committee the authority’s requested budget is $18,076,211 (requested) versus a lower baseline recommendation; the difference included an item for a legal settlement and other nonrecurring needs. She said the authority services about 40 district offices and eight senatorial districts and listed 31 FEMA‑related recovery projects; most remain in design while the irrigation pivots project is roughly 95% complete.
Méndez Soto reported arrears from lessees and said the authority had approximately $8.4 million in accounts receivable from active tenants; she estimated that, combining arrears from tenant farmers and unpaid obligations by government agencies and municipalities, the total recoverable exposure could be substantially larger (the discussion referenced a figure in the tens of millions). She told lawmakers the authority is preparing targeted enforcement and desahucio (eviction) actions and will send a more detailed ledger on arrears when requested.
ADEA and school meal invoicing Agricultural development administrator Jorge Quiles Maldonado (ADEA) and Javier Lugo Roldán (Corporation for Agricultural Insurance) also testified. ADEA described its role in procuring local produce for school meal programs and other institutional buyers; the committee raised a concern that billing and reconciliation with the Department of Education is unresolved. ADEA officials said invoices are processed regionally and that the agency has been working to reconcile long‑standing unpaid balances related to school meal purchases. ADEA reported it would provide a detailed accounts‑receivable breakdown requested by the committee.
Federal grants and recovery funds Secretary Rivera Castro enumerated federal grants: the Resilient Food Systems/AMS award (about $3.5 million for competitive proposals), livestock and poultry inspection funds (~$425,000), pesticide management grants (EPA) and other programmatic funds. He said roughly 2.2% of the department’s budget is federal grants (the department estimated federal funding equivalent at the time of testimony). The secretary also said the department had extended certain grant deadlines through year‑end after negotiating with federal agencies.
Committee direction and follow‑ups Committee members repeatedly asked for project‑by‑project status, percent complete and whether FEMA/ARP projects are fully funded for completion. Secretary Rivera Castro and the agency leaders agreed to deliver a table showing each recovery project, funding source, percent complete and outstanding procurement or permitting milestones within five business days. Members also asked the Department of Education to appear in a follow‑up hearing to reconcile school‑meal invoices that ADEA says remain unpaid.
Why it matters: Agriculture policy and recovery funds affect food security, rural employment and local economies. Lawmakers signaled they will scrutinize project management and receivables because uncollected revenue or project delays reduce available funds for current and new programs.
Provenance: Secretary Rivera Castro, Agrónoma Elga Méndez Soto (Authority of Lands), Jorge Quiles Maldonado (ADEA) and Javier Lugo Roldán (Corporation for Agricultural Insurance) provided testimony and answered committee questions recorded in the May 9 hearing transcript.
