Research re-imagined at USDA: New “Roadmap” published

The venerable U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has pioneered agricultural research for more than a century (see related post). Over the past several years,  the USDA has been reshaping its research priorities and funding programs, in part through the creation of the new National Institute of Food and Agriculture. NIFA has the mission to “advance knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and well-being” through funding research, education, and extension projects.

 USDA has just published a “Roadmap for USDA Science,” that is worthwhile reading. It calls for new approaches to foster robust food, agricultural, and natural resource science.

 The report begins in an interesting way. It asks us to:    

 Imagine a world in which…    

  …Radically improved children’s diets and nutrition slash long-term health care costs in the United States;

  …Farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners are recognized as significant contributors to large and sustainable reductions in global greenhouse gases;  

  …Farmers in sub-Saharan Africa have easy, affordable access to new seeds and animal breeds so well adapted to local conditions and so resilient to changing conditions that they feed five times as many people domestically and eliminate persistent hunger;  

  …Trends in availability of high-quality water and new options for watershed management outpace increasing demand for water even as climate change alters the geography of water resources; and

  …Technologically advanced production, processing, and foodborne pathogen detection methods make food product recalls nonexistent.  

 Farfetched, ask the authors of the Roadmap? Not at all, according to them — They believe that these goals are achievable through the kind of science the USDA will now promote. 

Among other things, the Roadmap calls for a focus on a limted number of “outcome-driven priorities,” cooperation with other agencies and institutions, concentration on both fundamental science and extension, and a “rejuvenation” of the USDA competitive grant system.

All in all, a very interesting read.