If agriculture’s identity is to be preserved, it
cannot be done by citing either its income
share in the national income accounts or the
proportion of the national workforce it em-
ploys. Neither is there much hope that the
nonfarm sector will spontaneously support the
expenditure of public funds for agriculture
programs in preference to other initiatives, in
spite of the importance of a dependable food
supply. The governmentally supported
agricultural establishment has the job of dem-
onstrating to an increasingly skeptical popu-
lace that its work is worthy of public support.
A lot of ground has been lost already through
missed opportunities. Whether we will regain
that ground depends upon our willingness to
recognize failures and try new approaches. Ul-
timately, success depends upon whether agri-
culture’s research and information output re-
tains marketability to a sufficient proportion
of an increasingly discriminating clientele.
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