SECRETARY VENEMAN TESTIFIES ON DIRECTION OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL POLICY FOR THE NEW CENTURY

Testimony Before Senate Agriculture Committee Highlights Need for Broader, Longer-Term View of the U.S. Agriculture and Food System

WASHINGTON, September 26, 2001 -- Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today testified before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee on the Bush Administration’s review of the food and agriculture system and the status of critical needs for the new century.

“Since the beginning of the year, the occurrence of several major events has convinced me of the urgency of a comprehensive review of today’s agriculture -- all of the policies, programs, and other supporting public infrastructure,” said Veneman. “It is critical that our policies, regulations, and supporting institutions must keep pace with new technology, the shifting business environment and our industry structure.”

Veneman testified that the food and agriculture system is driven by 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.

Throughout the hearing, Veneman recounted findings outlined in a report released last week, “Food and Agricultural Policy: Taking Stock for the New Century.” The publication outlines the Bush Administration’s farm policy principles and details the enormous changes that have taken place in agriculture and which continue to accelerate across the American food and farm sector. The Administration’s principles are designed to guide policy development for trade, a farm safety net, agricultural infrastructure, conservation and environment, rural communities, nutrition and food assistance, and program delivery systems.

The following is a summary of the principles:

Farm policy and programs must be tailored to reflect wide differences among farms with respect to production costs, marketing approaches, management capabilities, and household goals.

Farm policy, including providing a safety net, must promote more sustainable prosperity for farmers through market orientation without engendering long-term dependence on government support. This does not rule out helping farmers and ranchers when unexpected events beyond their control occur and cause output or income to plummet.

Trade policy must focus on gaining access to foreign markets through tariff reduction and the elimination of trade distorting subsidies and be supported by domestic policy that meets our existing international obligations and provides ample latitude to pursue ambitious goals in trade negotiations.
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.
Conservation policy must pursue a portfolio of instruments, including stewardship incentives on working farmland or retirement of environmentally sensitive land to respond to Americans’ growing expectations about agriculture’s role in promoting and protecting environmental quality.

A strong commitment to ensuring the access of all Americans to a healthy and nutritious food supply must continue, with particular attention to improvements in the delivery of food assistance to low-income families.
Recognition of emerging diet quality issues is of paramount importance, as the nation’s concern shifts from under-consumption and under-nutrition to that of the proper variety and quantities of foods and nutrients that promote health and well-being.

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.

With a food system that is consumer-driven and with 96 percent of the world’s consumers living outside the United States, Veneman repeatedly emphasized the increased importance of trade and export markets to the future of U.S. farmers and the food industry.

“Let me be very clear that we must help our farmers expand into new markets if they are going to succeed in this ever-changing environment,” Veneman said. “Otherwise farmers will be left behind. We need the tools – like Trade Promotion Authority – to open new markets and reduce tariffs so our farmers can better compete in the world marketplace.”

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’s Office of Communications 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.