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Contact: Mary Kathryn Kight
STARKVILLE, Miss.—U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith right now [Oct. 3] met with agricultural scientists at Mississippi State University and trade leaders to debate how public assist for agricultural analysis and improvement (R&D) can assist alleviate global starvation.
The Oct. 3 occasion, which included a tour of Mississippi State agricultural analysis amenities and a panel dialogue, highlighted how improvements can strengthen food provide chains, forestall animal illness outbreaks, and allow farmers to extend manufacturing with fewer sources. Today, the global food system is beneath vital stress from challenges together with the battle in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, and excessive climate occasions. However, agricultural R&D can assist make food techniques extra resilient, driving improvements to extend crop yields, protect pure sources, and allow farmers to adapt to completely different climate patterns.
“It’s more important than ever to put our heads together to come up with real solutions to avoid global food crises, particularly as our nation and the world continue to feel the effects of the crisis in Ukraine and a global pandemic. As challenges increase, so too must our investments in agriculture research and development. Mississippi State University and other stakeholders in our state already contribute to finding solutions to these problems, and we can do more,” mentioned Senator Hyde-Smith, who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee. “I appreciate the Farm Journal Foundation and Mississippi State for facilitating this pertinent and valuable dialogue.”
Participants on the panel included Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith; Keith Coble, Vice President of the Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University; Mike McCormick, President of Mississippi Farm Bureau; Dr. Margaret Khaitsa, Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University; Mark Leggett, President of Mississippi Poultry Association. Kelsey Barnes, Director of Government Affairs at Farm Journal Foundation served because the moderator. The occasion was organized and co-hosted by Mississippi State University and Farm Journal Foundation.
Monday’s tour included a cease at Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, the place Senator Hyde-Smith and others discovered about cutting-edge bovine respiratory analysis to handle illnesses that may be devastating for cattle farms. The tour additionally included stops at the college’s new livestock facility and its biophotonics analysis laboratory, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service.
“Our scientists at Mississippi State are finding solutions to the challenges our farmers face to enhance crop production, protect aquaculture and livestock, and boost water resources here at home and in communities around the globe,” mentioned Coble. “We are thankful for Senator Hyde-Smith’s attention to this important topic and appreciate the opportunity to discuss agriculture research and extension funding. By working together, we are ensuring that global food security is a priority for years to come.”
Investing in agricultural R&D is more and more vital, as global starvation is at document ranges, and food insecurity stays a critical problem nationally and in Mississippi. High food prices are additionally placing a pressure on shoppers each within the United States and world wide. Agriculture is Mississippi’s most vital trade, using roughly 17% of the state’s workforce both instantly or not directly, in line with the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
Agricultural analysis completed within the public sector, similar to that being carried out at Mississippi State, has an vital function to play in strengthening global food security. While personal sector analysis investments have had a big affect, notably on yields for giant commodity crops similar to corn and soybeans, the general public sector can assist early-stage analysis to pave the best way for vital long-term improvements. Public funding may assist comparatively underexplored areas similar to animal well being, environmental, and food security analysis, and unlock improvements for smallholder farmers abroad, serving to creating nations feed themselves.
Agricultural analysis has one of many highest returns of any public funding, returning on common $20 in advantages for each $1 invested. Yet right now, China and Brazil now outspend the United States on public funding for agricultural analysis, threatening America’s aggressive benefit in agriculture, in line with a current report commissioned by Farm Journal Foundation and the American Farm Bureau Federation.
“Agricultural research and development create the tools needed for smallholder farmers to feed their local communities, so they are not dependent on U.S. food aid.” mentioned Kelsey Barnes, Director of Government Affairs at Farm Journal Foundation. “It also makes our U.S. food system more resilient, creates opportunities for trade, and ensures the world is more food secure. As the global food security crisis increases migration and conflict, it is in the best interest of U.S. national security to make long-term agriculture development investments to prevent future food insecurities and inflation.”
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