$1 Billion Push for New US National Agricultural Institute.

Danforth Pushes for Agricultural Institute

- Eric Hand, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 15, 2006

With research funding for agriculture at a standstill, Missouri officials are trying to generate momentum for a new $1 billion national institute that would fund agricultural science that could lead to drought-resistant plants, new sources for biofuels and healthier foods.

Former Washington University Chancellor William Danforth is calling for a national institute of food and agriculture and expects that, if such an institute were created, some of the new funding would go to plant scientists in St. Louis...

"Important innovations are not going to come from traditional forms of agricultural research. They're going to come from basic science," said Danforth, who published an editorial Friday in the journal Science outlining what he sees as problems in the agricultural research system. "I came to the conclusion that the Department of Agriculture was not doing a very good job of that."

Funding Basic Agricultural Research

- William H. Danforth, Editorial, Science, Oct. 13. 2006, Vol. 314. no. 5797, p. 223

A task force established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has urged that the United States modernize its management and funding of fundamental agricultural research.

As its chair, I am delighted that a bipartisan group in Congress has taken the recommendations seriously and introduced legislation to create a National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within the USDA. NIFA will manage a new program of competitive, merit-based grants for fundamental agricultural research. We recommended first-year funding of $200 million, to grow, if successful, to $1 billion in 5 years...