Societies urge Agriculture Secretary to prioritize ag research pilot program

The Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AgARDA) is a pilot project created in the 2018 Farm Bill for a USDA-based “Advanced Research Projects Agency” like DARPA or ARPA-E but for agriculture research. The program is authorized at $50 million, but has not yet received funding through the annual Congressional funding process. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA enlisted a group of experts to develop an AgARDA Roadmap that could be used by USDA as a guide for how the program should be set up. The Roadmap includes descriptions of the signature characteristics of ARPA agencies with respect to staff, organizational structure, and project management.

Seven other scientific societies and university groups joined ASA, CSSA, and SSSA to send a letter to Secretary Vilsack asking him to prioritize AgARDA and develop a formal strategic plan.