WASHINGTON, September 19, 2001 -- Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today released the Bush Administration’s review of the food and agriculture system with a view toward identifying critical needs for the new century. The report, “Food and Agricultural Policy: Taking Stock for the New Century,” details the enormous changes that have taken place in agriculture which continue to accelerate across the American food and farm sector. Given the enormity and pace of change, the report recommends that policy makers take stock to examine past policies and programs and, where necessary, define anew goals and principles that can best guide the future growth and development of the farm, food and agriculture industry in the new century.
"Our challenge today is to address the vital
forces of change while at the same time modernizing the foundations of our farm
and food system to ensure continued growth and development for the 21st
Century," said Veneman. “Farmers today operate in a global,
technologically advanced, rapidly diversifying, highly competitive environment
that is driven by increasingly sophisticated consumers. The various policies, programs, and
supporting infrastructure that serve our food system will require updating to
meet future needs.”
The report recognizes that U.S. agriculture is
driven by basically the same forces shaping the U.S. economy -- globalization
of markets and cultures; advances in information, biological and other
technologies; and fundamental changes in the workforce and family
structure. It examines the enormous
changes faced by today’s food and farm system as well as the lessons learned
from more than seven decades of food and farm policies.
While describing the background of today’s policies, the goals they were designed to serve, as well as the enormous changes that have occurred through years of growth and development, it also suggests that past polices designed for narrower purposes in an isolated economy simply cannot meet the current needs of our modern, rapidly expanding food and agricultural system.
The report offers a set of principles to guide
policy development for trade, a farm safety net, system infrastructure,
conservation and environment, rural communities, nutrition and food assistance,
and program delivery. The following is
a summary of the key principles:
·
Domestic
farm policy must not inadvertently reduce competitiveness at the same time that
trade policy seeks expanded export market opportunities for farmers.
·
The
infrastructure that supports market growth and efficiency, which includes
everything from border inspection services to research endeavors, must be renewed
and reoriented to fit today’s realities, with input and cooperation from every
link in the food chain.
·
Rural
America is diverse, and tailored policies must create conditions that will
attract private investment, encourage the education of the rural labor force, and
promote alternative uses of the natural resource base, including through
development of renewable energy sources and carbon sequestration to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
·
Systems
must be integrated to assure coordinated and collaborative delivery of food and
farm programs and to citizen access to public services.
“This report suggests that fundamental, far-reaching
changes in policy, programs, procedures and institutions may be required to
best prepare our farmers, ranchers and food industry as a whole for the new
world marketplace,” said Veneman. “It
is this broader vision that we want to encourage and support, and to help bring
into focus in the months and years ahead.”
For a complete list of future farm policy principles and for more information about “Food and Agricultural Policy: Taking Stock for the New Century,” please visit http://www.usda.gov or contact USDA Public Affairs at 202-720-4623. Radio news feeds with interviews featuring USDA officials can be found at http://www.usda.gov or by calling 202-488-8358.
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