Veneman Cites 'Critical Issues'

February 21, 2003

Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, in the keynote address for USDA's Outlook Forum, outlined what she termed several "critical issues" that can help shape the future of U.S. agriculture. She said applying technology "to its fullest potential," strengthening the nation's food safety system, improving and expanding risk management tools fo farmers and continuing to expand and open new international markets were most crucial.

"Addressing these key priorities will help position agriculture for the future and provide a focus to the main question that we ask today... what must be done now so we can be competitive in the dynamic marketplace of the 21st century?" she said. She said USDA expects a "significant increase" in farm income, and exports for the year are projected at $57 billion, substantially more than last year's $53 billion level." Veneman said the United States "must apply technology to its fullest potential, advance alternative uses for agricultural products and adopt a forward-looking regulatory system that ensures the integrity of technology advancements in food and agriculture." She added, "The ability to continually develop and apply new technology effectively is essential to compete in the 21st century. This makes USDA's research and education programs crucially important, and it is highly complimentary to the work being done in the private sector that is helping advance agriculture in areas with enormous potential. This can be seen in the form of new products, more nutritious foods, advances in medicine, and even in helping address the nation's energy needs." To compete successfully also depends on the safety of the nation's food, she said. "Since consumers have many choices about the foods they consume, news of tainted foods can induce strong changes in consumer behavior sometimes out of proportion to the real risk of adverse health consequences. Remember when BSE was detected in Japan during 2001? In the three months following the discovery, Japanese consumers reduced beef consumption by about one-half, with an equally sharp decline in beef imports." The foundation of the country's farm risk management program is crop insurance. Following passage of the Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000, USDA implemented program reforms that helped increase participation. Today, nearly 80% of eligible acreage is covered, compared with only 69% in 1998, Veneman said.

"Our goals are to ensure widely available and effective risk management tools for our diverse farm sector, for farmers and stakeholders to be well-informed, that the delivery system is fair and effective, that programs are operated with integrity, and that we excel at service to the nation's producers," she said.

Veneman said she has asked the Risk Management Agency to undertake a major initiative in 2003 to identify the underserved producers and closely examine the regions, commodities and the risks. "Then, we will prioritize the development of new products to fill the gaps identified."

This year will be "a critical one" for advancing our overall trade agenda, the Secretary said. The WTO negotiations are entering a crucial phase as countries work to develop the modalities for reducing tariffs and subsidies to achieve trade reform.

"What do we hope to achieve with (an) ambitious trade agenda? Improved access and new opportunities in global markets for our farm products are very important, but a broader theme also runs throughout our approach to trade liberalization as we look to include developing countries as full partners in our trade agreements and other international initiatives," she said. She also cited expanded bioenergy and bioproduct use; strengthening the biotechnology regulatory system, especially for nonfood crops and animals; stepping up the war on pathogens and enhancing infrastructure programs.

Where the new disaster aid program is concerned, it is "not unlike the tremendous changes we saw in the new farm bill, so we're going to have teams of lawyers, economists, and program people looking at how best to deliver these program benefits as quickly as possible to our farmers and ranchers in the country.