Following several weeks of extensive negotiations, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed the 2020-2021 California budget on June 29th.
Included in the budget for a second consecutive year is $5 million in state funding for the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Division at CDFA. The Division is tasked with preventing the spread of the Asian citrus psyllid and Huanglongbing. CCM has worked extensively over the years to advocate for state funds to augment the industry’s investment. Given the dire economic recession created by the COVID-19 Pandemic and the resulting budget cuts, the citrus industry is incredibly fortunate to have maintained this critical funding. CCM applauds the Governor, CDFA Secretary Ross and the Citrus Division Leadership, and members of the legislature who advocated for and supported this funding.
The Citrus Division, known within the industry as the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program or CPDPP, is funded in partnership between the citrus growers and state and federal governments. In addition to grower assessments and funding from the state, the program has received significant funding from the federal government each year for the past decade. Last year, CCM worked with our colleagues in Florida and Texas to get an increase for the nationwide Citrus Health Response Program, which resulted in $14 million for California. We are optimistic that Congress will once again approve this funding in the upcoming budget being negotiated now.
The Division’s nearly $40 billion per year budget is spent on activities to prevent the spread of Huanglongbing to commercial citrus groves. It is CCM’s priority to see that our state and federal partners continue to support this essential program.
