Howdy, all--
I thought this action alert might interest some of you. It is via
Elizabeth Bird/CSARE. Some of you will receive it as CSARE
members...my apologies for any redundancy, but I know there are folks
in both the SANET and IFFS communities who aren't CSARE members. And
if you aren't CSARE members, you should be. :^)
peace
misha
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>ACTION NEEDED:
>Tell USDA to Focus New Research Funds on
>Family Farms, Environment, and Food Security
>
>The US Department of Agriculture made a surprise announcement in
>early January -- $120 million in new funds, previously thought to be
>unavailable, will be spent on competitive research grants this year.
>The prospect of this much money in new research funds presents an
>enormous opportunity to make critical investments in farming systems
>and marketing alternatives that support family farms, sustainable
>agriculture, and long term solutions to the farm crisis. However,
>the competition on the use of the windfall will be enormous and
>other priorities -- including genetic engineering, factory farm
>retrofitting, precision farming, etc. -- will hold significant
>influence. Letters to USDA Secretary Glickman are needed urgently.
>
>The program -- known as the Initiative for Future Agriculture and
>Food Systems -- was authorized in the 1998 agricultural research
>bill with $120 million a year set-aside for funding. Each year,
>however, Congress has shut down funding for the program in the
>annual appropriations bill. Now, a novel budget and legal
>interpretation by the Department is freeing up the funds -- more
>than likely just for one year, as Congress is likely to close the
>loophole in its next agriculture appropriations bill.
>
>The type of research funded will largely be determined by the
>language in the Request for Proposals (RFP) and the make-up of the
>subsequent review panels that will evaluate and rank the submitted
>projects for funding. The Department has just started the process
>of drafting the RFP, but they are on a very fast timeline. Hence,
>letters are needed immediately!
>
>ACTION NEEDED: With the development of an RFP for the Initiative
>for Future Agriculture and Food Systems on a fast track, now is the
>time to communicate with Secretary Dan Glickman urging him to:
>
>* Require all funded projects to simultaneously pursue the three
>stated goals of the Initiative-- production, environmental quality,
>and farm income -- and ensure that project proposals are rated
>according to their capacity to deliver useful knowledge to promote
>these goals concurrently. Great care should be taken to avoid
>funding projects that increase production at the expense of family
>farm survival or environmental protection.
>
>* Develop a project rating system that favors proposals that reflect
>an interdisciplinary, systems approach, incorporate strong farmer
>involvement, and include assessments of impacts on farm
>profitability, local communities, and the environment. Review
>panels should also
>be multidisciplinary in character and include specialists in
>technology assessment as well as farmers and others with expertise
>in the needs of family farms and sustainable agriculture.
>
>* Ensure that the Request for Proposals (a) reflects the language of
>one of the priority mission areas of the Initiative -- to promote
>the competitiveness and viability of small and medium-sized dairy,
>livestock, crop, and other commodity operations -- in all of the
>topics and areas in which it solicits proposals and (b) targets no
>less than one-sixth ($20 million) to the specific needs of small and
>moderate-sized family farms. Special emphasis in the targeted
>category should be placed on new production and marketing systems
>that allow farmers to use their skilled labor and management to
>decrease farm production costs and increase on-farm value retention.
>
>* Target funds specifically to projects that would jump-start
>implementation of Section 244 (organic agriculture), Section 405
>(alternative crops and crop diversification), and Section 407
>(sustainable systems for small and medium size dairy, livestock, and
>poultry farms) of the 1998 research act. Sadly, these three
>programs have not been funded or implemented to date. The
>availability of the Initiative money provides a great opportunity to
>get them underway.
>
>* Include within the future food production goal a genetic diversity
>and preservation initiative to identify and publish species within
>the national germplasm system in a way that is producer and user
>accessible. Farmer participation in genetic preservation is
>critical to improving our germplasm system and enhancing long-term
>food security.
>
>ACT NOW: Program implementation is moving on a very fast tract. All
>major decisions will be made before the end of January. Please
>respond immediately! Letters based on some or all of the points
>above should be mailed or faxed to:
>
>Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture, US Department of
>Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250 (fax: 202-720-2166)
>
>Send copies of your letter to:
>
>Miley Gonzalez, Under Secretary for Research, Education and
>Economics, same address
>(fax: 202-690-2842)
>
>Charles Laughlin, Administrator, Cooperative State Research,
>Education, and Extension Service same address, (fax: 720-8987).
>
>-----------------------------------------
>"Inquiry in Action: Learning partnerships for sustainable
>agriculture and food systems"
>------------------------------------------
>Elizabeth Ann R. Bird, Ph.D.
>Executive Advisor
>Consortium for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
>and project Outreach Specialist with theCenter for Integrated Ag
>Systems, UW-Madison
>On Campus:
>1535 Observatory Dr.
>Mailing:
>1450 Linden Dr. Rm. 146, Madison, WI 53706
>608-262-9997; 608-249-5796 FAX 608-265-3020
>eabird@facstaff.wisc.edu www.csare.org
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