U.S. Congressman Jimmy Panetta met with Braga Fresh and the Farm Journal Foundation last week.
The meeting included a tour of Braga Fresh's produce farming operations in Soledad and a discussion about how support for public agricultural research and innovation can benefit farmers in the U.S., as well as smallholder farmers overseas who produce the majority of food in many developing countries. As Congress works to craft final appropriations bills and the next Farm Bill, discussions about public support for agricultural development and innovation are particularly important, especially as global hunger and malnutrition remain stubbornly high.
L-R: Kyle Harmon, director farming, Braga Fresh; Rep. Jimmy Panetta; Colby Pereira; Katie Chiapuzio, director environmental sciences, Braga Fresh
"Farmers in California's 19th Congressional District and around the country continue to face an increasingly complex set of challenges," said Rep. Panetta. "Expanding agricultural research and innovation is essential to ensuring American farmers lead the global marketplace and drive our efforts to feed the world."
The event included a visit to the company's on-farm regenerative agriculture trials, demonstrations on how the farm uses agricultural technology, and a discussion on the importance of protecting soil health.
"Agricultural research being conducted in the U.S. benefits American farmers, as well as farmers in developing countries where hunger and malnutrition are unfortunately rising," said Colby Pereira, chief operating officer at Braga Fresh and Farmer Ambassador with Farm Journal Foundation. "Farmers worldwide need to be able to access the latest innovations to ensure that we can be profitable and build sustainable livelihoods and continue to produce enough food to meet rising global demand."
L-R: Harmon and Panetta in a regenerative farming trial on the Braga Home Ranch, Soledad, CA.
Agricultural innovations are significant today, as farmers around the world face increasing challenges. The effects of the pandemic, conflict, and climate change have disproportionately hurt small-scale farmers and people living in food-deficit countries where large segments of the population rely on agriculture to make a living, according to a recent report commissioned by Farm Journal Foundation.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, agricultural research has one of the highest returns of any public investment, returning on average $20 in benefits for every $1 invested. Despite its benefits, public funding for agricultural research has been declining over the past two decades.
Congress could use the Farm Bill to help reverse this trend, such as by increasing support for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a public-private partnership that has, to date, matched every dollar it has received from the government with $1.40 from a non-federal source, often from the private sector.
For more information:
Kori Tuggle
Braga Fresh
[email protected]
www.bragafresh.com