ARA Co-Signed a Letter Supporting Funding for the Foundation of Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) in the Farm Bill
Sep 11 2023
The Foundation of Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), through partnerships and since its establishment 10 years ago, has awarded over 300 grants to address challenges across the entire food and agriculture industry.
According to the USDA Economic Research Service, since 2002, U.S. public state and federal investments in agriculture research have significantly declined by 30% from $7.5 billion to $5.2 billion in 2019.
To date, FFAR has allocated a total of $605 million, leveraging more than $1.4 private sector dollars with every dollar of federal investment. At that rate, more than $1.8 billion could be spent on agriculture research through FFAR public and private partnerships over the next 10 years.
FFAR is requesting $750 million in mandatory funding in the 2023 Farm Bill to support its research efforts. This would leverage a 1:1 match, resulting in $1.5 billion in new public and private agriculture research funding over the next decade, ensuring the entire food supply chain has the tools to be more sustainable and the solutions to provide a nutritional, safe, and abundant food supply for an ever-growing population.