S. 4853 — United States-Israel Agriculture Cooperation Improvement and Expansion Act

This section provides congressional findings on the United States-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund, established in 1977 as a competitive program supporting joint U.S.-Israeli agricultural research. It states that the fund has approved more than 1,300 projects with a $315 million investment that has returned $16 for every $1 spent and has produced new practices, patents, and commercial licenses.

This section expands the Binational Agricultural Research and Development (BARD) Fund to support mid-stage cooperative agricultural research projects of mutual interest to the United States and Israel. It establishes an accelerator program to fast-track such research through management guidance, technical assistance, and related services, and authorizes appropriations of $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.