By Tiffany Stecker, E&E reporter, March 23, 2015
(Published by Environment & Energy Daily)
Agricultural research is a tough sell on the Hill. Though everyone benefits from it, it doesn’t offer the near-immediate gratification of other programs…Read more.
In order to build resilient food systems, adapt to a changing climate, and drive economic growth in low- and lower-middle income countries, agriculture productivity must be prioritized. Investments in agricultural research can unlock the tools farmers the world over need to adapt to climate change and in the process provide a pathway forward for improved livelihoods, prosperity, and a food-secure future. And at the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, a new Coalition is launching to achieve just that.
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Pointing to achievements that include a new process to remove allergens from peanuts, 11 research universities called for stronger federal support of the food and agricultural sciences. Their new report, Retaking the Field—Strengthening the Science of Farm and Food Production, explores research projects funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) at each institution.
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A few years ago, scientists monitoring insect populations began to sound the alarm that honey bees, a critical player in how plants reproduce, were disappearing in ever larger numbers. In the past year, beekeepers lost 40 percent of their colonies, and entomologists were also seeing alarming losses in wild colonies around the country.
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