WASHINGTON, Aug. 8, 2014 – Former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman has been elected board chairman of the newly established Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research. The 15-member board chose Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum as vice chairman at the group’s inaugural meeting on Thursday.
Authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill, FFAR will operate as a non-profit corporation seeking and accepting private donations in order to fund research activities that focus on problems of national and international significance. Congress provided $200 million for the foundation, which must be matched by non-federal funds as projects are identified and approved.
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced the members selected for the board in July. Directors will serve three-year terms. The board must now select an executive director and staff.
The research funded by FFAR will tackle issues including plant and animal health; food safety and nutrition, renewable energy, natural resources, and environment; agricultural and food security; and agriculture systems and technology.
Glickman is currently the chairman of the Food Research and Action Center in Washington, D.C.
#30
For more news, go to: www.Agri-Pulse.com