USDA announces initial supporters of Sustainable Productivity Growth Coalition

(Michigan Farm News) – More than 50 organizations and countries have signed on to support an effort led by the U.S. to accelerate the transition to more sustainable food systems through agricultural productivity growth.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the initial supporters of the Coalition for Sustainable Productivity Growth for Food Security and Resource Conservation (SPG) earlier this week.

The U.S. launched the coalition at the United Nations Food Systems Summit in September. Since then, eight countries — including Australia and Brazil — have formally given their support.

Other groups, including the Agricultural Retailers Association, American Soybean Association, National Grown Growers Association, National Milk Producers Federation, and National Pork Producers Council, among others, are also backing the coalition.

“We initiated this coalition because it is clear that increasing agricultural productivity is essential to meet the needs of a growing global population and ensure that food is affordable to hundreds of millions of people around the world,” Vilsack said.

“If we are going to end hunger while minimizing environmental impacts, we must commit to developing and deploying new ways of doing things in agriculture.”

The SPG Coalition is open to all sectors of agriculture and aims to accelerate sustainable productivity growth by considering:

• Food security and safety
• Food affordability
• Diet quality
• Farmer and farm worker income and wellbeing
• Food loss and waste
• Resource conservation
• Biodiversity
• Climate change mitigation

The coalition is looking to achieve its goals while optimizing “agricultural sustainability across social, economic, and environmental dimensions.”