USDA: Climate Adaptation Key to Science Blueprint

Adapting to a changing climate is one of the themes of a new five-year research plan announced by the USDA Wednesday.

“With a changing climate we need to make sure our agricultural system can adjust,” USDA's deputy undersecretary Scott Hutchins said last week, describing the research blueprint.

Hutchins added farm country needs to be ready for the future, and that’s only possible with technology and science.  He said the plan, which is billed as a “roadmap for USDA science from 2020 to 2025,” will help coordinate research initiatives across the various agencies within the department.  The blueprint “lays out overarching themes that provide a framework for our vision for the USDA’s science initiatives."

There are five these to the USDA's blueprint.  They include:

• Sustainable Ag Intensification: “Develop crop production systems and alternative strategies to intensify plant and forest production with continuous improvements and adoption of new technology and innovative practices while reducing environmental impacts.”
• Ag Climate Adaptation: “Develop interdisciplinary integrative systems approaches to address environmental and management challenges that positively impact productivity and resilience.”
• Food and Nutrition Translation: “Generate fundamental knowledge and tools that later be applied to improve food safety and food security, including One Health research such as antimicrobial resistance.”
• Value-Added Innovations: “Strengthen food, agricultural, and forest production, processing, manufacturing, utilization, and marketing through new technologies, innovation, and data analysis to create jobs and economic opportunities in rural areas.”
• Ag Science Policy Leadership: “Encourage a global conversation and facilitate such discussion within decision-making bodies about literacy in agriculture, food, forestry, health and science.”

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