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4 Challenges Facing the Research System
Pages 42-56

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From page 42... ... And public concern about the environment water quality; preservation of forest and wildlife habitats; and the sustainability of current agricultural, rangeland, and forestland production practicesis leading to new conservation and regulatory policies. Although the issues of competitiveness and economic performance, human health and well-being, and natural resources stewardship have always been on agriculture's agenda, their growing magnitude, coupled with the public's increasing concern about them, gives each one a new urgency. Read the entire page →
From page 43... ... As more countries compete in agricultural trade and as the volumes of trade have risen, international markets have become more complex. Thus, understanding the international dimensions of agricultural development and trade are essential if U.S. Read the entire page →
From page 44... ... ; and (3) understanding that macroeconomic policies, probably well outside the agricultural sector, have a major effect on the vitality of agriculture. Read the entire page →
From page 45... ... The third issue central to competitiveness and economic performance is that a variety of macroeconomic policy issues affect agricultural trade: monelary policy, the value of national currencies, monetary instability, and trade and tariff agreements. In research terms, competitiveness in international agricultural trade faces some of the following challenges: � narrowing the nation's trade deficit by improving export competitiveness and expanding export demand; � stimulating global economic and trade growth, including a reduction in trade barriers; � reconciling national agricultural policies with the international mix of agricultural policies, thereby establishing the strategy of flexibility in setting polic~es; � assessing the effect that changes in economic and technical factors and in resource endowments have on import demand, availability of export supplies, and comparative advantage in agricultural production; identifying and analyzing monetary linkages among countries; assessing the implications of monetary phenomena for trade flows; and understanding the functioning of financial, commodity, and international capital markets; � understanding the trade-offs and linkages between domestic agricultural and trade policies and removing distorting policies; � assessing and evaluating trade and the implications of restrictive trade policies and practices in terms of who gains and who loses; � identifying the characteristics of international markets that discourage or encourage U.S. Read the entire page →
From page 46... ... Thus,adding value to agricultural products can have a significant effect on a major sector of the economy. Although the production sector is only about 2 percent of GNP, adding value would have a major positive effect on producers because the value-added component would expand the demand for high-quality agricultural products. Read the entire page →
From page 47... ... Willingness to change will be particularly important for the public given the pub lic's wariness of technological effects and its ambivalence toward new technologies-as R&D develops more production systems based on the results of the newer biological and technological advances. Examples include recombinant DNA technologies for improved plants and animals and automation and technological systems that make it possible to replace more labor with equipment. Read the entire page →
From page 48... ... Such changes will come about, however, only when physical, biological, and social R&D is sufficient so that the form and effects of the optimal systems can be known with precision and farmers can make informed judgments. Challenges The economic performance of the nation's agricultural and food sectors depends on overcoming a variety of challenges: � determining the optimal strategies for securing comparative advantage through value-added approaches using science and technology; understanding the biological and physical properties of plants and animals that are most advantageously manipulated, so that economically useful new uses of major crops can be developed and additional nutrient qualities can be designed into foods; � establishing a national strategy for proceeding from a commodity-based to a value-added agricultural and food sector; raising per-capita income among farmers and lessening their reliance on government payments; creating jobs, particularly in export-oriented, value-added industries; understanding personal and societal resistance to change so that a more efficacious system can be established for utilizing new information and technology; developing management skills and practices for reducing costs in both the producing and the processing sectors; � developing effective R&D systems that accelerate the conversion of science and engineering results into practicable use; and ensuring an optimal delivery system for applying knowledge and technologies. Read the entire page →
From page 49... ... Trade-offs would seem necessary because many animal food products are both pelt of the problem (high in fat and cholesterol) and part of the solution (high in calcium and available iron) Read the entire page →
From page 50... ... ; and establishing agency authority for ensuring the quality of the food supply. Food Safety Product safety is considered a "very important" or "somewhat important" factor in food selection, as indicated by 90 percent of the respondents in a 1989 survey of 1,000 shoppers referred to above (Food Marketing Institute, 1989~. Read the entire page →
From page 51... ... Third, risk assessment methods are beginning to take into account unique risk factors in certain population groups that may be more heavily exposed or susceptible to toxic agents-pregnant women, the young, the elderly, members of certain ethnic groups, farm workers, and people who have impaired immune responses or who are undergoing chemotherapy. 51 Challenges � improving methods for estimating dietary risk from pesticide residues and pathogens; � developing furtherincentives throughout the food system from growers to marketers- for ensuring that pesticide residues and microbiological contamination are eliminated from the food supply; � developinginstitutions end mechanisms that will provide a good understanding of the risks pertaining to the food supply; � accelerating and intensifying the search for and development of nonchemical pest control methods, including the use of endogenous pesticides produced by the plants themselves, with the necessary genes obtained through classical breeding or recombinant DNA methods; and � being able to communicate the concept of relative risk effectively to government officials and consumers so that informed choices can be made. Read the entire page →
From page 52... ... Implicit in natural resources stewardship is the belief that the resources must be sustained and enhanced for the benefit of future generations. Environmental protection by responsibly caring for natural resources is an increasingly critical economic and cultural consideration in agriculture, forestry, and other land management systems and practices. Read the entire page →
From page 53... ... Challenges developing cost-effective agricultural and forest management systems that minimize or, preferably, eliminate surface and groundwater pollution: from both point and nonpoint sources; � devising land management practices that reduce or eliminate the transport of pollutants through surface and subsurface flows and assessing the quantitative effects of such practices; � developing methods for increasing water yields and availability while minimizing water quality degradation; � using irrigation waters more efficiently; � designing innovative systems for restoring water quality and preventing contamination from nonpoint sources; developing cost-effective remediation systems; and understanding the economic and social effects of possible abatement, remediation, and agricultural production strategies. Water quantity has become a difficult issue for the agricultural sector in more and more parts of the country. Read the entire page →
From page 54... ... Soil productivity can also be lost by farming practices that compact soils, harm soil filth, and exhaust soil fertility. Challenges � developing erosion prediction models that account for all forms of water and wind erosion and thus give realistic estimates of soil losses for individual events and total annual losses; � developing realistic methods for assessing offsite effects of agricultural land use and management practices and construction, urban, and industrial operations; � developing improved economic analyses of the costs and benefits of soil and water conservation practices; � improving methods for reclaiming heavily disturbed lands; � understanding the ecology of soil macro- and microorganisms, how agricultural and forestry practices modify their populations, and how beneficial consortia of organisms can be maintained; � developing alternative cropping systems and management practices to minimize the loss and degradation of soil resources; � increasing the use of education, regulation, and public awareness programs in altering local, state, regional, and federal policies that may favor poor land use decisions in the planning of residential expansion, transportation corridors, and reservoirs; and determining the societal costs of alternative land use patterns (e.g., costs for public transportation and public services) Read the entire page →
From page 55... ... � conserving and using natural genetic diversity so that new species can be found and used for beneficial purposes, such as new biocontrol systems; identifying genes and creating new genetic diversity by traditional and molecular genetic means; � transferring genes to susceptible plant and animal species to create new properties, such as host resistance for biocontrol systems; � developing methods to measure biodiversity in forest and agricultural ecosystems; � developing methods by which indices of diversity can be included in ecosystem inventory procedures; � expending existing research on ecologically teased systems for classification of forest sites; � developing genetically engineered crops and forest trees that are tolerant of stress, parasites, and pathogens; and � integrating the conservation of biodiversity, especially endangered species, with sustainable agricultural and forest production practices. Ecosystem Structure and Function [retailed knowledge of an ecosystem's structure and function is essential for optimum management of Read the entire page →
From page 56... ... Progress in meeting these challenges will markedly decrease the use of pesticides, lessen the severity of water quality problems, lower the costs of pest control, and serve as a foundation for sustainable production systems. Waste Management A national crisis is developing over the carelessness with which waste materials are produced, handled, and disposed. Read the entire page →

From page 42...

... And public concern about the environment water quality; preservation of forest and wildlife habitats; and the sustainability of current agricultural, rangeland, and forestland production practicesis leading to new conservation and regulatory policies. Although the issues of competitiveness and economic performance, human health and well-being, and natural resources stewardship have always been on agriculture's agenda, their growing magnitude, coupled with the public's increasing concern about them, gives each one a new urgency.

4 Challenges Facing the Research System Pages 42-56

4 Challenges Facing the Research System
Pages 42-56