WERA_OLD067: Western Coordinating Committee for Sustainable Agriculture
Statement of Issues and Justification
issue "The Agricultural Productivity Act passed by Congress in 1985 as part of the Food Security Act, provided the authority to conduct research and education programs in alternative farming systems, at that time known as Lo?SInput Sustainable Agriculture (LISA). The 1990 Farm Bill strengthened the intent of the 1985 Food Security Act, and it further defined and expanded the objectives of the program to include education of agricultural professionals. The USDA program's name was changed at this time to the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Congressional approval of the SARE program was continued in the 1996 Farm Bill (Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996), with $1.1 million appropriated for research, education, and professional development activities in 1996. The SARE program operates a competitive grants program and is administered through four geographic regions. In the Western Region (comprising 13 states and American Samoa, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, and Guam) an Administrative Council is responsible for overall policy and funding decisions for a variety of competitive grants programs. WCC?67 (formerly WRCC?67) was first established in 1987 because of a growing need to enhance coordination and communication on sustainable agriculture research and outreach activities occurring throughout the western region. Of the four geographic regions, the western region covers the largest geographical area with the greatest number of bio?regions and farming systems, from the Pacific islands to Alaska to the desert southwest. Coordination and identification of research and education priorities of a multidiscipline, bioregion specific program such as sustainable agriculture requires regular evaluation and feedback. Because of the diverse agricultural systems found in the western region, and the multi?disciplinary nature of research and outreach activities within these sustainable agricultural systems, regional communication among researchers and outreach professionals is critically important. A coordinating committee to provide communication and feedback on new issues, priorities, successes, and failures is vital to the overall success of the program."
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