USCIB Food and Agriculture Committee

The next USCIB Food and Agriculture Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 19 from 11:00 – 12:30 pm EDT.

Agenda topics will include:

• An update on the Coalition for Sustainable Productivity
• OECD Discussion with Steve Neff, Senior Advisor for OECD Affairs, USDA

Background on OECD Discussion:

The OECD will hold an Agriculture Ministerial meeting on Nov. 3-4, 2022, more than 6 years after the most recent Ag Ministerial in 2016. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack was a Co-Chair at the 2016 meeting, which produced a Ministerial Declaration that has guided OECD agriculture work since 2016 (attached). That Declaration framed the issues in terms of agriculture’s mission – a productive, sustainable and resilient food system – which has guided mandates for OECD research since then.  Going forward, USDA will attempt to keep that mission prominent in discussions leading toward the ministerial in 2022, while taking into account issues that have gained importance in the interim such as climate and COVID-19. USCIB will have formal opportunities for input through Business at OECD [BIAC] and informally through USDA via conversations arranged by USCIB.

Speaker Background:

Steve Neff is USDA’s lead delegate to the OECD Committee for Agriculture and USDA’s coordinator for OECD agriculture matters that arise in other committees, for example Trade, Health, and Environment. Steve is finishing his 33rd year as an economist at USDA, including 11 years in the OECD role. He was heavily involved in the 2016 OECD agriculture ministerial and is well positioned to tell us where we’ve been, where we are, and how we can provide input for the future.

If you are interested in participating, please RSVP to Ashley Harrington (aharrington@uscib.org) to receive the meeting invitation.