10/17/06 Investing in Ag

Investing in agriculture for food security. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Each year, World Food Day calls attention to producers and consumers of the global food supply. This year`s theme of investing in agriculture for food security is an appropriate one, according to Katy Coba, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. COBA: Agriculture plays an incredible role in terms of food security. Basically, it`s the whole notion of having food available and knowing that food is safe to eat. Coba says it is important for Americans in general to start thinking about investing in agriculture so it can remain viable in the future. That means continued rural development and making sure the infrastructure exists to help get agricultural products to market. Too often, consumers take food production for granted. Coba offers a challenging question to Americans: COBA: Where does your food come from and where do you want your food to come from in 50 years? If you feel, as I do, that you are not comfortable with a majority of that coming from overseas, what do we do to continue to support agriculture in this state to make sure we can get food from Oregon 50 years from now? The value of northwest agricultural production has never been higher- and with a majority of what is produced leaving the NW, there is no doubt that the industry is a major player in providing food for the rest of the country and the world. COBA says it is important for us to invest in rural development and those things that help agriculture get product to market, especially since most of it leaves the state to begin with: COBA: In order for Oregon agriculture to be competitive in the global environment, we have to have transportation infrastructure and infrastructure provided at a cost that allows us to be competitive. COBA says agriculture is a good investment for the future, especially for the sake of food security: COBA: Looking into our future 20 to 50 years, for my children and grandchildren, I am concerned about where our food is going to come from and I would not want Oregon or the U.S. to be dependent on foreign sources of food like we are dependent on foreign sources of oil. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.