USDA program will focus on global food demand and sustainability

A new initiative by the U.S. Department of Agriculture aims to meet the needs of an expanding global population through environmentally responsible practices.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the creation of the Agriculture Innovation Agenda, a department-wide initiative.

Through the program, USDA intends to align resources, programs and research “to position American agriculture to better meet future global demands,” according to the announcement. The department “will stimulate innovation so that American agriculture can achieve the goal of increasing production by 40 percent while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050.”

The agenda includes four components:

First, USDA will develop an “innovation strategy” aligning public and private sector research.

Second, the agency will align the work of its customer-facing departments and “integrate innovative technologies and practices into USDA programs.”

Third, USDA will review department productivity and conservation data, including environmental data.

Fourth, the agency will set several accountability benchmarks to meet future industry demands. The benchmarks include reduction of food loss and waste; improvements of carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions; water quality improvement; and an increase in renewable energy production, specifically biofuels.

“We know we have a challenge facing us: to meet future food, fiber, fuel and feed demands with finite resources,” Perdue said. “USDA’s Agriculture Innovation Agenda is our opportunity [to] define American agriculture’s role to feed everyone and do right as a key player in the solution to this challenge.”