Dear Chairman Harris, Chairman Heinrich, Ranking Member Bishop, and Ranking Member Hoeven:
As your Committees consider Appropriations for the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies for FY2025, the undersigned organizations, companies, and institutions urge you to provide an investment of $50 million for the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AGARDA).
Advanced research agencies have been effectively deployed in defense, energy, and health to tackle the biggest challenges facing these industries in novel and groundbreaking ways. Established in the 2018 Farm Bill and modeled after successful advanced research agencies like DARPA and ARPA-E, AGARDA will foster research, development, and technology transfer resulting in significant benefits across the U.S. food and agriculture value chain.