As Congress works on drafting the next farm bill, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee says commitment must be given to science, technology and innovation.
Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pennsylvania, offered his insights on the importance of agricultural innovation while speaking at roundtable discussion, “The Role of Innovation in Global Food Systems,” held on May 2 on the Kansas State University (KSU) campus.
“A pretty simple definition of American agriculture is three words: science, technology and innovation,” Thompson said.
Even the early settlers of what is now the United States used science, he explained.
“It was really crude and rudimentary; it was simple trial and error. And it was used for a righteous purpose, and that was to be able to produce more food so that fewer family members would die by the next harvest season,” he said.
As those in agriculture continued to innovate, more food to feed more people was produced. Thompson said the productivity of the American farmer has increased 287% since the 1940s, and he wants that increase to be even greater as a result of the next farm bill. A goal he mentioned is to see a 400% increase by 2035.
“American agriculture is not static. It’s dynamic. So as we work on this farm bill, … we will be leaning on science, technology and innovation as a filter as we work on and write each of the 12 titles and subtitles of the farm bill.”
Food security and national security
A common theme of the discussion first brought up by House Agriculture Committee member Tracey Mann, R-Kansas, whose district includes the KSU campus, was that food security is national security.
Thompson expanded on that, and cited the current war in Ukraine and other world conflicts as examples as to why Congress should invest in agricultural innovation.
“People with full bellies are less likely to engage in war and terrorism. That’s a modest investment … compared to what a war costs in terms of war and treasury,” said Thomspon. “People will do things when they’re desperate, so that’s formed to real life implications that we should all be observing at this point in time.”
