Agriculture and Rural Development 

• Trade agreements should favor farm income support payments that discourage or at least do not encourage heavier production of price-suppressing surpluses of agricultural commodities…Trade reform policies can and must be part of a package that liberalizes U.S. commodity agriculture and promotes a true domestic rural development model based on entrepreneurship…reforming trade agreements and rules has the potential to provide multiple benefits to the rural communities in the United States and developing nations (Hunger Report 2005, Page 110).  Cross Reference:  Trade, Rural Development (International and Domestic) and Agriculture (International)
  
  
• The goal of U.S. farm policy must be to promote sustainable agriculture, reduce rural hunger and poverty, and eliminate food insecurity here in our own country and around the world (Hunger Report 2005, Page 110) Cross Reference:  Food Insecurity (International and Domestic) and Agriculture (International)
  
  
• …the "Farm Bill"…is the one major federal policy vehicle where rural issues gain center stage.  Until that changes, issues concerning non-agricultural economic development should continue to be pushed through the Farm Bill (Hunger Report 2005, Page 89).
  
  
• Changes in U.S. agriculture policy will be needed to improve the lives of rural people, wherever they may live (Hunger Report 2005, Page 26).
  
  
• …rural policy must encompass more than farming (Hunger Report 2005, Page 23).
  
  
• The ultimate goal of U. S. farm programs must be to promote sustainable agriculture, reduce rural poverty and eliminate food insecurity, both in the United States and throughout the world.  Toward this end, the United States should:  gradually eliminate tariffs on developing country agriculture exports, export subsidies and production-linked domestic support payments; support U.S. farmers who leave agriculture with adjustment assistance that would include counseling, job training, education reimbursement and transportation aid; support small and mid-size farmers with comprehensive rural development programs and technical assistance in adopting new technologies and developing greater economies of scale; establish provisions for farmers to help them sustain losses resulting from catastrophic weather events; strengthen assistance for farmers in meeting conservation goals and environmental mandates, including increased technical assistance, cost-share programs and incentive payments for use of environmentally friendly practices; increase research and regulation in areas, such as biotechnology, food safety, disease prevention and environmental quality; invest in rural communities by supporting economic development initiatives, job training, business promotion and infrastructure development, and reduce hunger in the United States (through nutrition and poverty reduction programs) and worldwide (through development assistance and trade opportunities), with this adding to the ongoing demand for food production (Hunger Report 2003, Page 55). Cross Reference:  Agriculture (International), Food Security (International), Rural Development (International), Environment, Biotechnology, Nutrition Programs, Trade, and Development Assistance.
  
  
• In the United States, agricultural subsidies disproportionately benefit the affluent farmers and corporate farms.  Some of this money should, in any case, be redirected to assistance to low-income U.S. farm families, environmental conservation and investment in rural, off-farm job opportunities (Hunger Report 2002, Page 84).

Rural Development

See The Rural America Preservation Act (RAPA), S. 385.

• RAPA sign-on letter: "We…urge your support for legislation to address problems in U.S. farm programs that are hurting family farmers both in the USA and abroad…we are asking you to co-sponsor the Grassley/Dorgan Rural American Preservation Act of 2005 (S. 385) in order to re-orient U.S. farm payments away from subsidizing overproduction and toward a more equitable and sustainable farm program…the Grassley/Dorgan Rural American Preservation Act will place a real limit on the amount of money any single entity can receive and close loopholes that allow the biggest farms to receive massive government payments" (March 30, 2005, Rural American Preservation Act, S. 385, BFW Sign-On Letters 2001-Present).
  
  
• A key reform is to promote trade rules that favor non-trade distorting support payments.  Trade agreements should favor farm income support payments that discourage or at least do not encourage heavier production of price-suppressing surpluses of agricultural commodities…Trade reform policies can and must be part of a package that liberalizes U.S. commodity agriculture and promotes a true domestic rural development model based on entrepreneurship…reforming trade agreements and rules has the potential to provide multiple benefits to the rural communities in the United States and developing nations (Hunger Report 2005, Page 110).  Cross Reference:  Trade, Rural Development (International) and Agriculture (International and Domestic)
  
  
• The federal government must play a pivotal role in providing structure that promotes economic development in rural regions.  Rural policy should bolster the ability of rural communities to use the assets they have to create viable livelihoods and help rural people cope with the economic, demographic and social changes they face (Hunger Report 2005, Page 92).
  
  
• Rural development should be focused on a model of cooperation that recognizes there are numerous development strategies and only cooperation and collaboration can determine which are best for individual communities…Government should recognize and encourage this strength through public policy that recognizes cooperation rather than inter-community competition as the paradigm for rural development policy (Hunger Report 2005, Page 92).
  
  
• Within the limited focus that is given to rural development, we are concerned about the government's approach.  There are ways the existing funds could be spent more effectively to strengthen rural communities (Hunger Report t 2005, Page 91).
  
  
• Only concerted effort and cooperation between national government and local communities will result in rural development that allows poor people and poor communities to find a permanent way out of poverty (Hunger Report 2005, Page 88).
  
  
• Any development model for rural communities must begin with a philosophy that the model will work toward sustaining these communities (Hunger Report 2005, Page 86).
  
  
• A rural policy that embraces the full diversity of rural America will likely only come from stronger representation of all the groups of people that call rural America home (Hunger Report 2005, Page 63).
  
  
• Issues of geography and scale are generally lost in the discussion of rural development policy, but actually may be the most fundamental considerations in any policy discussion (Hunger Report 2005, Page 61).
  
  
• The ultimate goal of U. S. farm programs must be to promote sustainable agriculture, reduce rural poverty and eliminate food insecurity, both in the United States and throughout the world.  Toward this end, the United States should:  gradually eliminate tariffs on developing country agriculture exports, export subsidies and production-linked domestic support payments; support U.S. farmers who leave agriculture with adjustment assistance that would include counseling, job training, education reimbursement and transportation aid; support small and mid-size farmers with comprehensive rural development programs and technical assistance in adopting new technologies and developing greater economies of scale; establish provisions for farmers to help them sustain losses resulting from catastrophic weather events; strengthen assistance for farmers in meeting conservation goals and environmental mandates, including increased technical assistance, cost-share programs and incentive payments for use of environmentally friendly practices; increase research and regulation in areas, such as biotechnology, food safety, disease prevention and environmental quality; invest in rural communities by supporting economic development initiatives, job training, business promotion and infrastructure development, and reduce hunger in the United States (through nutrition and poverty reduction programs) and worldwide (through development assistance and trade opportunities), with this adding to the ongoing demand for food production (Hunger Report 2003, Page 55). Cross Reference:  Agriculture (Domestic), Food Security (Domestic), Rural Development (International), Environment, Biotechnology, Nutrition Programs, Trade, and Development Assistance.
  

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