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![handle is hein.cbhear/fdsysbdfg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: AUTHENTICATED
U.S. GOVERNMENT
INFORMATION
GPO
AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD
AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RE-
LATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2022
U.S. SENATE,
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS,
Washington, DC.
NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES
[The following testimonies were received by the Subcommittee on
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration,
and Related Agencies for inclusion in the record. The submitted
materials relate to the fiscal year 2022 budget request for pro-
grams within the subcommittee's jurisdiction.]
PREPARED STATEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH (SOAR) FOUNDATION
The Supporters of Agricultural Research (SOAR) Foundation appreciates the op-
portunity to submit testimony to support a significant increase in the FY 2022 ap-
propriation for research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), including
the National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Re-
search Initiative (AFRI). A non-profit organization, SoAR was established in 2014
to increase the quality and quantity of agricultural research, and, in particular,
competitive merit-based research programs devoted to funding the best science. Re-
cently, SoAR announced that moving forward, it will work to expand the overall in-
vestment in agricultural research around the world, a key solution to the changing
climate and the growing hunger crisis.
With climate change already at our front door and the ongoing battle against
COVID-19, we believe now is the time to significantly increase public investments
in agricultural research and development (R&D) programs at USDA. President
Biden agrees and proposed in his Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request an increase of
$647 million from the fiscal year 2021 enacted level for USDA's research, education,
and outreach programs. The total request for these programs is $4 billion to ad-
vance innovation and the application of science-based and data driven tools to put
American technologies into the hands of farmers. 1 SoAR strongly supports these
proposed increases, including for USDA's Agricultural Research Service.
Food and agriculture have significant direct and indirect economic impact. A 2021
study shows that the food and agriculture sectors account for roughly one-fifth of
the country's economic activity, directly supporting nearly 20 million jobs. That is
more than 13% of U.S. employment. Total jobs indirectly supported by food and ag-
riculture reach almost 41 million jobs. The total output of these sectors is $7 tril-
lion.2
Through research and innovation providing solutions to short- and long-term chal-
lenges, our food and agriculture sectors are a driving force of the U.S. economy. A
recent study found that U.S. public agriculture R&D spending from 1910 to 2007
1https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/FY2022-Discretionary-Request.pdf,
Enclosure 2, Page 2.
2https://feedingtheeconomy.com/
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