{"id":31137,"date":"2022-06-10T00:01:44","date_gmt":"2022-06-10T04:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=31137"},"modified":"2022-06-22T14:14:11","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T18:14:11","slug":"usda-announces-dramatic-increases-in-support-for-organic-agriculture-without-call-for-total-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2022\/06\/usda-announces-dramatic-increases-in-support-for-organic-agriculture-without-call-for-total-transition\/","title":{"rendered":"USDA Announces Dramatic Increases in Support for Organic Agriculture Without Call for Total Transition"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, June 10, 2022)\u00a0The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced<\/a> on June 1 that it will provide a potential 15-fold increase in funding aimed at organic food production \u2014 up to $300 million. The subject Organic Transition Initiative provision is embedded in a new USDA Food System Transformation framework (FSTF), whose raison d’\u00eatre<\/em> is captured in the press release<\/a>: \u201cto transform the food system to benefit consumers, producers and rural communities by providing more options, increasing access, and creating new, more, and better markets for small and mid-size producers.\u201d That funding for organic transition, the invocation of climate as a significant driver of multiple features of the initiative, and a focus on equity concerns are all welcome news. Beyond Pesticides maintains that it will be critical that this FSTF result in concrete goals that set out specific metrics and timelines \u2014 particularly around the magnitude of acres shifted to organic production and the pace of the phaseout of non-organic substances and protocols.<\/p>\r\n

The headline of the press release<\/a> bespeaks the rationale: \u201cShoring Up the Food Supply Chain and Transforming the Food System to Be Fairer, More Competitive, More Resilient.\u201d Broadly, the initiative addresses four sectors of agricultural activity: production, processing, aggregation\/distribution, and markets\/consumers.<\/p>\r\n

The FSTF sets out four top-level goals; the appendix to the announcement includes more-detailed sections on each of these:<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n\t
  1. building a more resilient food supply chain that provides more and better market options for consumers and producers while reducing carbon pollution<\/em>; the press release notes that the increase in funding is geared to providing comprehensive supports for farm transition to organic production, including mentoring, comprehensive, wrap-around technical assistance, direct funding through conservation financial assistance and additional crop insurance assistance, and support for developing product markets in targeted areas<\/li>\r\n\t
  2. creating a fairer food system that combats market dominance and helps producers and consumers gain more power in the marketplace by creating new, more, and better local market options<\/em>; this section points to the huge reduction in producers\u2019 power in the marketplace during the past five decades, due to massive consolidation in the food system, and to the \u201cperils of a food system dominated by a few corporate players\u201d; this initiative, USDA asserts, will \u201cdeliver a better deal for farmers, ranchers, growers and consumers\u201d<\/li>\r\n\t
  3. making nutritious food more accessible and affordable for consumers<\/em>; in this section, USDA emphasizes the unacceptability of food and nutrition insecurity, and commits to its elimination<\/li>\r\n\t
  4. emphasizing equity;<\/em> here, the agency says that \u201crural communities, underserved communities, communities that experience persistent poverty, and the people who live there have been left behind\u201d; it further asserts that the FSTF will create more economic opportunities in such communities and help them keep more of the food system dollar \u2014 accelerating more-equitable growth, and helping more of the created wealth remain in small towns and underserved communities<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    USDA\u2019s press release notes<\/a> that the effort \u201csupports the Biden-Harris Administration\u2019s broader work to strengthen critical supply chains as directed by\u00a0Executive Order 14017<\/em>\u00a0America’s Supply Chains<\/em>.\u201d Funding for the initiative will come from the American Rescue Plan Act (and other pandemic relief legislation), and a good number of the features address \u201clessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruptions caused by Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine.\u201d USDA has emphasized that this new initiative builds on its 2021 provision of pandemic assistance to cover certification and education expenses for certified organic<\/a> producers and those making the transition to organic. (See more about pandemic support for farmers here<\/a>.)<\/p>\r\n

    The appendix section (of the USDA press release) on Food Production<\/a> spotlights two initiatives: the increased funding (up to $300 million) for the new Organic Transition Initiative, and up to $75 million to support urban agriculture. Roughly $20 million for the latter will go to processing a backlog of applications from a 2018 grant program to support urban agriculture; in 2020 and 2021, a mere 6% of applications were processed. Another $40 million will help fund outreach and training programs for urban farmers, which USDA says will \u201cexpand access to nutritious foods, foster community engagement, increase awareness of climate change and mitigate the effects within urban areas, provide jobs, educate communities about farming, and expand green spaces.\u201d The People\u2019s Garden Initiative<\/a>, recently revived, will get an infusion of $5 million for 18 flagship gardens across the country, which are used to \u201cgrow fresh, healthy food and support resilient, local food systems; teach people how to garden using conservation practices; nurture habitat for pollinators and wildlife; and create greenspace for neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

    Other noteworthy features of the initiative include:<\/p>\r\n