The U. S. Caribbean and many other island nations throughout the region suffered catastrophic damage to communities, infrastructure, farms, and forests during September 2017 hurricane events. To better understand the effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on agriculture, forestry, and rural communities in the U.S. Caribbean and the internal and external factors that affected their vulnerabilities or resilience, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) â Forest Service and Caribbean Climate Hub (CCH), request permission to conduct focus groups and in-depth interviews to collect information from farmers, forest owners, and other agriculture and forestry community members about their experiences with, preparations for, responses to, and recovery from these storms.
Results from the proposed research will inform natural disaster and disturbance prediction, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts by USDA, Forest Service, and other Federal agencies, as well as related local government, civil society, private sector, and community efforts. In the short term, results from this information collection will be critical in informing ongoing post-hurricane response and recovery efforts by USDA and its partners. In the long term, knowledge generated will contribute to reducing societal costs from disturbance processes, increasing cost-effective management, mitigation, and adaptation efforts, and supporting more resilient communities and economies in the U.S. Caribbean and broader contexts.
US Code:
7 USC 3101
Name of Law: National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977
This information collection is a renewal of a previously approved information collection OMB 0596-0246. The previous information collection was approved for an annual burden of 131 hours. The annual burden for this approval is 145 hours. Annual burden increased slightly reflecting our effort to increase overall response rate.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Appendix I Questionnaire - Private Sector