SOLEDAD — U.S. Congressman Jimmy Panetta met with leaders from Braga Fresh and Farm Journal Foundation on Oct. 9 to discuss how support for agricultural research and development can benefit global food and nutrition security.
The meeting included a tour of Braga Fresh’s produce farming operations in Soledad and a discussion about how support for public agricultural research and innovation can benefit farmers in the United States, as well as smallholder farmers overseas who produce the majority of food in many developing countries.
As Congress works to craft final appropriations bills and the next Farm Bill, discussions about public support for agricultural development and innovation are particularly important, especially as global hunger and malnutrition remain stubbornly high due to the ongoing effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic, regional conflicts and climate change.
“From Mother Nature to mandates, markets and manpower, farmers in California’s 19th Congressional District and around the country continue to face an increasingly complex set of challenges,” said Rep. Panetta. “Expanding agricultural research and innovation is essential to ensuring American farmers lead the global marketplace and drive our efforts to feed the world. I’m proud that our home remains a leader in ag-innovation, and I will continue to push for my bipartisan federal legislation to accelerate the development of agricultural breakthroughs so that we can help our local farmers and ranchers continue to succeed.”
This month’s event included a visit to Braga Fresh’s on-farm regenerative agriculture trials, demonstrations on how the farm uses agricultural technology and a discussion on the importance of protecting soil health.
“Agricultural research being conducted here in the U.S. benefits American farmers, as well as farmers in developing countries where hunger and malnutrition are unfortunately rising,” said Colby Pereira, chief operating officer at Braga Fresh and farmer ambassador with Farm Journal Foundation. “Farmers all over the world are coping with high input costs and increasingly difficult weather and market conditions. We need to be able to access the latest innovations, to ensure that we can be profitable and build sustainable livelihoods and continue to produce enough food to meet rising global demand.”
Agricultural innovations, such as those showcased at Braga Fresh, are particularly important today, as farmers around the world face increasing challenges. The effects of the pandemic, conflict and climate change have disproportionately hurt small-scale farmers and people living in food-deficit countries where large segments of the population rely on agriculture to make a living, according to a recent report commissioned by Farm Journal Foundation.
Global hunger and malnutrition are linked to numerous geopolitical risks, threatening U.S. national security, Farm Journal Foundation research shows.
Agricultural research has one of the highest returns of any public investment, returning on average $20 in benefits for every $1 invested, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In spite of its benefits, public funding for agricultural research has been declining over the past two decades.
Congress could use the Farm Bill to help reverse this trend, such as by increasing support for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a public-private partnership that has, to date, matched every dollar it has received from the government with $1.40 from a non-federal source, often from the private sector.
In addition, Congress could fully fund Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative aimed at improving local agriculture and food systems to reduce hunger and drive economic growth. This program not only supports international agriculture research, but also works to deploy these solutions to smallholder farmers who struggle with low productivity.
“Investments in agricultural development and research programs are investments in the future,” said Rose Barbuto, senior policy adviser at Farm Journal Foundation. “Support for farmers is critical to ensure they can continue to grow enough food to feed themselves, their families and their communities, whether here in the U.S. or abroad. Innovations developed in the U.S. can go a long way in delivering solutions to some of farmers’ biggest challenges, benefitting both American farmers and smallholder farmers in developing countries where hunger and malnutrition unfortunately remain significant challenges.”
