Dear Editor,

Wednesday, March 18, is National Ag Day, a day to raise awareness about agriculture’s contribution of food and fiber to our society. As a farmer, it’s also a day when I reflect on how far agriculture has come since my great grandparents and grandparents farmed, and how far we’ll need to go to meet the nutritional needs of a growing population. My grandfather produced enough food to feed 19 people. Today, the average American farmer feeds more than 144 people. Agriculture is this nation’s number one net export and vitally important in sustaining a healthy U.S. economy.

Still, with a population projected to reach more than nine billion by 2050 and nearly 805 million hungry around the world, we know that food production in the US and across the globe will need to increase dramatically, without using more water and land, to meet that global demand. Since nearly half of the 805 million food insecure are smallholder farmers, one of the most effective ways to tackle hunger is to empower those farmers to better feed themselves and their families.

American agriculture has a lot to offer to partners in the developing world, lending strengths and lessons learned from our own agricultural journey to help developing countries expand their agricultural capacity. U.S. public investments in research and development, extension and education, infrastructure, innovation and training have the potential to improve livelihoods many times over. It’s the right thing to do and it it’s in our best interest. Agricultural development creates a domino effect, stimulating economic growth that over time transforms aid recipients into commercial customers for U.S. food. On this 42nd National Ag Day, let’s celebrate agriculture for what it has provided us and its potential to improve the lives of millions more around the world.

Sincerely,

Kassi Tom Rowland
Tom Farms