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Agriculture and food security:
a strategic vehicle for the United States |
November 10, 2014 |
While the new Farm Bill is being implemented, the recent statements by the US Executive are a further demonstration of the importance in the United States of Agriculture and the Agri-Food industry as a major strategic challenge.
As Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, just reiterated at a conference at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the mission of Agriculture is not only to feed the world, but it plays an important role politically, economically, for society and security. Beyond the classic mantra on the US leadership in food security, Tom Vilack’s speech reveals yet again that it is not only an integral part of the “vital interests of the nation”, but that food issues remain a tool of foreign policy.
Indeed, the protection of the agricultural sector and increasing its international competitiveness is one of the priorities for American policy. Thus, the formation of American farmers’ income is largely conditioned by export performance vis-à-vis the rest of the world. In this context Barack Obama announced new investments in new technologies in three sectors considered major: defence, energy and agriculture. A desire for investment reinforced by recent figures on US agricultural exports, which for the 2014 fiscal year amounted to USD 152.5 billion against USD 141 billion last year, an increase of 41% in five years.
Competitiveness is not a choice but an imperative in a context of financial crises latent since 2008. The United States, together with other agricultural powers have understood this well. Therefore protecting farmers and consumers from the exogenous and endogenous risks that weigh on this specific and strategic sector is paramount, not only within the boundaries of States but also from outside.
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