The Case for Food and Agriculture Is Critical in Trying Times

By Growing Produce|March 19, 2020

Everyone needs to eat and drink. This point comes to the forefront, especially during times of crisis, writes Paul Rusnak at Growing Produce. That’s precisely why the Food and Agriculture sector is among the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s 16 critical infrastructure sectors. Being designated as such can help ease uncertainties and possible roadblocks for industry stakeholders in the face of COVID-19.

Per the Department of Homeland Security: “There are 16 critical infrastructure sectors whose assets, systems, and networks — whether physical or virtual — are considered so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination thereof.”

To help keep U.S. agriculture moving ahead, streamlining turbulent issues with unimpeded access to farm labor is essential. Delays in visa processing in Mexico as well as “shelter-in-place” situations like what is being experienced in California threaten the sector’s health amid the coronavirus chaos.

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Growing Produce, a sister site to CropLife at Meister Media Worldwide, serves as a top information source for specialty crop growers seeking information about production techniques, crop protection, farm management, new varieties, and more. Our readers are commercial fruit, vegetable, and citrus growers, as well as other allied professionals in specialty agriculture industry. See all author stories here.

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