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VI 



PREFACE 



this proposal. The board believes that now is the time 

 to take advantage of recent scientiHc and technologi- 

 cal advances to solve problems in the areas of com- 

 petitiveness, the food supply, and natural resources 

 stewardship. The sectors contributing to the agricul- 

 tural, food, and environmental research system — the 

 land-grant universities, other universities, agencies of 

 the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the scientific 

 societies, and others — are also now making the case 

 for strengthening U.S. agriculture through science. 

 Indeed, concurrent with and wholly independent of 

 the board's initial work, a group of state agricultural 

 research leaders discussed a need for action similar to 

 that proposed here. 



Investing in Research is the latest in a series of 

 Board on Agriculture reports that began with the 1972 

 Report of the Committee on Research Advisory to the 

 U.S. Department of Agriculture. Subsequent reports 

 dealt with problems of world food production, genetic 

 vulnerability, genetic engineering, natural resources, 

 education in agriculture, control of pesticides in food, 

 designing foods, and research priorities. Investing in 

 Research builds upon that foundation. 



Chapter 1 , the executive summary, summarizes the 

 proposal for an expanded competitive grants program 

 within the U.S. Department of Agriculture and an 

 infusion of new money into it Chapter 2 presents the 

 proposal and describes its major parts. Chapter 3 



explains the rationale for major points of the proposal. 

 Chapter 4 gives a review of the major challenges 

 facing the agricultural, food, and environmental sys- 

 tem. Chapter S delineates the six program areas 

 necessary to encompass the needs of the system satis- 

 factorily. Chapter 6 outlines the institutional and 

 administrative issues involved in the implementation 

 of the proposal. The report concludes with a set of 

 afrpendixes covering funding trends for the agricul- 

 tural, food, and environmental sector, budget priori- 

 ties; current program objectives; and other documents 

 relevant to this report 



The board expects — indeed, welcomes and en- 

 courages — discussion and refinement of this proposal 

 and then implementation of its recommendations. 



This proposal presents an investment opportunity 

 in the classic sense. The invesunent entails some risk 

 and will not produce immediate results. Yet, it will 

 provide the basis for a new competitive position for 

 agriculture, an improvement in human health and 

 well-being, and improved stewardship of our natural 

 resources. 



Strengthening, revitaUzing, and energizing U.S. 

 agriculture will be difFicult but far from impossible. 

 We have done it before. 



Theodore L. Hullar 

 Chairman 



