St. Louis, Missouri
April 2, 2008
The
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Wednesday asked
members of the U.S. House to protect the focus of the National
Plant Genome Research Program on crops that are “agronomically
important” – plants grown to bring value back to the consumer
and the taxpayer, as stated in the program’s original intent and
mandate.
Pam Johnson, a farmer from Floyd, Iowa, and chairwoman of NCGA’s
Research and Business Development Action Team, presented
testimony to the House Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related
Agencies Appropriations subcommittee and discussed the program’s
successes, which led to the Feb. 28 announcement of the
completion of a draft sequence of the corn genome.
“This high-quality genetic map is a foundation and the first
step in creating a robust pipeline of scientific knowledge and
innovation on a pathway to application and crop improvement,”
Johnson said. “Access to the information encoded in the corn
genome will improve water and nitrogen efficiencies, help plants
cope with challenges from disease, pests and adverse weather,
and allow us to tailor the crops we grow to specific end users.”
Johnson fears efforts to shift the program within the budget
structure of the National Science Foundation could lead to
reduced funding for the program, and urged the subcommittee to
include in the FY 2009 Science, State, Justice and Commerce
appropriations bill, language that secures the $101.22 million
National Plant Genome Initiative budget to be applied
exclusively to species of economic importance, keeping in line
with the original intent of the program.
She ended her testimony by saying this effort is especially
critical at this time in history, when the growing global
population looks to corn and other plants to meet demands for
food, feed, fuel and fiber.
Click
HERE to review the complete testimony. |
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