Conference on sterile insects set for February 4

The California Department of Food and Agriculture will host a forum on Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) on February 4 via Zoom, at 8:30 am.    

SIT is a key component in CDFA’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach and consists of the sterilization of certain invasive species, which are then released into the environment to eradicate infestations through breeding.  

CDFA and the USDA teamed up in the mid-90s to introduce SIT for the Mediterranean Fruit Fly in Southern California, and it is the primary pest management and eradication tool used in the program to this day.  Sterile insects are also used for pests like the Navel Orangeworm, Apple Coddling Moth, Cotton Pink Bollworm, and the Mexican Fruit Fly.

The forum, which is open to the public, will examine history and the latest science related to Sterile Insect Technique. To join the meeting, please click on this link on February 4, and enter the password CDF@2800.

USDA NRCS News Release

A new Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas reduction study reveals that from 2004 to 2018, more than 367,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalents were sequestered or GHGs reduced by installing NRCS working lands conservation practices on farm, ranch, or forest land.

“The average carbon footprint of a Californian is 9.256 metric tons of CO2 per year ,” says Carlos Suarez, State Conservationist for NRCS in California. “NRCS conservation practices applied by California agricultural producers completely offset the annual carbon footprint of 39,650 Californians. Utilizing another metric, these voluntary working lands actions by farmers and ranchers sequester carbon in healthy soils and offset greenhouse gas emissions of more than 79,000 typical passenger vehicles collectively driven nearly a million miles in a year.”

For more than 85 years, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) helped farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners with their conservation technical assistance. What started as soil erosion control, turned into so much more for our natural resources. Since 2004, NRCS worked to deploy soil health conservation practices on more than 2 million acres of California farm and ranch lands.

“Thanks to our collaboration with NRCS, California agriculture is a leader in innovation and climate-smart agriculture,” said Karen Ross, California Secretary of Agriculture.  “These numbers show the power of partnership with farmers and ranchers to implement voluntary incentive-based practices supported by sound science and on-the-ground technical assistance!”

The carbon study and an NRCS tool called “COMET” were discussed today by Dr. Adam Chambers, National Environmental Leader for NRCS West National Technology Support Center, at the virtual California Rangeland Summit. 

“COMET is the premier tool that farmers and ranchers can use to calculate carbon and greenhouse gases sequestered when they use certain conservation practices,” said Dr. Chambers.

Whether it’s conservation technical assistance or the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, NRCS has a lot of options to help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners. In this study, 28 different conservation practices were analyzed for benefits.

Four noteworthy conservation practices 

• Composting: effective long-term method for building soil fertility in organic production systems.
• Cover cropping: grasses, legumes, and forbs for seasonal cover and other conservation purposes.
• Pollinator hedgerows: establishing wildlife habitat by planting herbaceous vegetation or shrubs.
• No till: limiting soil disturbance to manage the amount, orientation, and distribution of crop and plant residue on the soil surface.

NRCS conservation practices demonstrate how working lands agriculture can voluntarily reduce emissions and become a climate solution. Soil Health co-benefits, through implementation of soil health practices, include water capture and increased availability, nutrient cycling with reduced inputs, pollinator and wildlife habitat, break up pest cycles, sustained crop production under extreme weather events.

California farmers and ranchers are part of the climate change solution. Partnerships at the federal, state, and local levels are working on this together for agricultural resilience. For more information about conservation technical assistance, how to apply for Farm Bill and program eligibility, interested applicants should contact a NRCS field office in the county which land is owned or operated.

Visit https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/ to find local NRCS representatives.

Interview by Lori Pottinger of the PPIC

We talked to Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, about agricultural programs designed to build climate resilience and support farmers’ financial resilience and water security.

PPIC: What kind of progress is California making with climate-smart agriculture programs?

KAREN ROSS: It’s very exciting to see progress in this area, and California’s farmers and ranchers are really leaning in. An important element of this program is our effort to reduce methane emissions from dairy and livestock. We’ve invested almost $300 million for dairy digesters and alternative manure management practices.  In addition to reducing a powerful greenhouse gas, these investments can create alternative revenue streams for dairy farms—by generating renewable energy or manure-based products—which is very important given dairy’s economic volatility. These weren’t broadly used practices or technologies before, so public funding sends an important policy signal that the state thinks this is important work.

The State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP) supports on-farm water efficiency, and it’s really been embraced by farmers—it’s probably our most popular program. We’ve invested more than $85 million into it since it was created during the last drought, and the governor’s budget includes $40 million more for the next two years. While this program is mostly used to convert to water-saving irrigation systems, it also supports investments in things like right-sized pumps, which reduce energy use and GHG emissions.

We’re also making exciting progress with our Healthy Soils Program—the only state program of its kind. It gives farmers the opportunity to be part of the solution to climate change, using practices that sequester carbon in soils—such as cover cropping, applying mulch or compost, and planting hedgerows, which also provide wildlife habitat. The proposed budget has $30 million for this program.

Another climate solution is the Air Board’s program to replace farm equipment with cleaner engines, which immediately helps improve air quality in the Central Valley while also reducing greenhouse gases.

The Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation program will continue to receive funding through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. UC Davis studies show that preserving farmland can reduce GHGs, because emissions from urban development are more intense per acre. Strategic land preservation is increasingly important for managing resiliency and climate change, and I think this program could become even more important given the potential for land fallowing resulting from groundwater sustainability plans. We’re going to have to be very strategic in deciding what is fallowed, and think holistically with an eye on lands that can help with groundwater recharge and carbon sequestration. Well-designed incentives and planning tools will be key.

To scale up these programs to the acreage we’d like to see, we have to work on two things: first, we need a clearer picture of the costs and benefits to prove the return on the investment. And we have to capture and quantify the water-saving capacity of soils by increasing carbon stores.

PPIC: How is the state planning to help small and underserved farmers navigate the regulatory landscape?

KR: The governor is keen to understand the landscape of regulations that fall on all farmers. We’ve identified at least 150 regulations that farmers have to comply with. The proposed budget provides funding for CDFA to work with the California Environmental Protection Agency to find redundancies and look for ways to make compliance easier while maintaining important public health and environmental protections. We’ve heard from cooperative extension specialists that they’re spending more time on helping farmers understand the regulatory compliance maze than on other key aspects of their work, such as helping with business planning and agronomics.

The governor’s budget also includes $6 million to help small and underserved farmers recover from COVID-19 disruptions. This will be through grants administered through nonprofits that work with small farmers, as well as partnering with UC Cooperative Extension to scale up their programs to support small farmers.

PPIC: How can the state encourage effective and equitable implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA)?

KR: This is a big challenge. SGMA is locally driven, and it’s important that we support local processes. I’m gratified that the governor proposed $60 million in state investments to support local groundwater sustainability agencies in implementing their plans and undertaking land-use and economic planning. In thinking about resilience, we need to think of land, water, and air as an integrated system and not just from the perspective of our siloed programs. We’d like to find ways for SGMA, the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation program, Healthy Soils, and other programs to work together to mitigate negative impacts and optimize outcomes for our rural farm communities.

PPIC: Going forward, what are your hopes for CDFA’s partnerships with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)?

KR: USDA is extremely important for California farmers—we are partners on the ground in a number of nationally important plant and animal pest and disease programs as well as natural resource conservation and rural development. Our relationship with USDA has always been positive from one administration to another. I am happy to have Tom Vilsack back as secretary—he’s a tremendous public servant and a very strong leader. And everyone is thrilled to have a Californian as vice president!

President Biden has made it clear he’s focused on both rural America and climate change; he has a deep understanding of the unique opportunity for farmers and ranchers to play a role in addressing climate change. I’m very excited about the growing focus on agriculture-led climate solutions to sequester carbon and create renewable energy, all while ensuring farm productivity to make sure we continue to have strong food production systems.

Link to interview on PPIC web page

Statement from CDFA secretary Karen Ross:

I am eager to work with my friend and former boss Secretary Tom Vilsack to expand climate smart agriculture practices to more acres of farm and ranch land!  CDFA’s climate smart ag programs have been built on the great work at USDA under Secretary Vilsack’s previous leadership to create the climate smart ag building blocks and advance climate smart ag global alliances.   

USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service is a trusted partner offering technical standards for proven conservation practices and cost-share programs.  We have followed that NRCS model to offer voluntary practices, incentive funding, and technical assistance to build soil health, reduce greenhouse emissions, sequester carbon, improve nutrient cycling, generate renewable energy, and enhance biodiversity. 

We have great partnerships with the University of California Cooperative Extension and academia, rural conservation districts, ag and environmental organizations and other technical service providers to expand the infrastructure of climate smart ag support throughout California. 

However, at the end of the day, it is the leadership and innovation of our farmers and ranchers who live and work on the land – whether as new beginning farmers or fifth-generation and sixth-generation families – that will help California meet its carbon neutral goals.

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News Release

On the same day the Biden Administration announced a series of actions on climate, California environmental officials convened hundreds of stakeholders to begin advancing Governor Gavin Newsom’s first-in-the-nation goal to protect 30 percent of the state’s land and coastal waters by 2030 to fight species loss and ecosystem destruction.

Last year, California joined a global effort than now includes more than 50 countries to protect 30 percent of our planet’s land and waters by 2030. Today’s announcement by President Biden means the United States is now added to the list as well.

“California has long taken on the mantle of global climate leadership advancing bold strategies to fight climate change – including committing to protect 30 percent of our land and coastal waters by 2030,” said Governor Newsom. “It’s great to have a partner in Washington, D.C. once again that listens to science and is ready to take on this existential threat and get to work to help slow and avert catastrophic climate change.”

California committed to protecting 30 percent of land and coastal waters by 2030 last October when Governor Newsom signed an executive order directing state agencies to accelerate actions to combat climate change, protect biodiversity, expand equitable access and build resilience through nature-based solutions.

The agencies convened a public webinar today to kick off a collaborative effort to advance the 30 by 30 commitment and begin work on a Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy to be delivered later this year.

“Nature-based solutions to combat climate change have long been a missing piece of our climate agenda, and we are closing this gap in California,” California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot said. “The science is clear that our iconic landscapes remove carbon from the atmosphere and protect people and nature from the impacts of climate change – reducing risk of catastrophic wildfire, absorbing floodwater, cooling communities, providing habitat, and more. While the portfolio of nature-based solutions is vast, they all support healthy ecosystems on which all our wellbeing depends.”

“Today’s action from the Biden Administration marks a commitment to elevating climate and environmental justice to the top of our collective agenda. Protecting nature and restoring our lands and waters is fundamental for life on this earth – everything from clean air and drinking water to our shared food systems and the biodiversity that keeps our planet health,” California Secretary for Environmental Protection Jared Blumenfeld said. “We also know that preserving these invaluable resources means little if people are still left with the burden of polluting industries in their neighborhoods and without access to the same investments made elsewhere. That’s why we are equally proud and excited to see the Administration’s focus on 40 percent of all investments going to the most disadvantaged communities and the integration of not just climate, but racial justice, into all federal agency actions.  We welcome the Biden Administration’s partnership in taking bold action now.”

“We welcome a strong and renewed partnership with the federal government to scale-up climate smart agriculture, not just in California but across the country,” California Secretary for Agriculture Karen Ross said. “California’s record of investment in climate smart agricultural practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon demonstrates the possibility of a vibrant future led by farmers and ranchers in creating an agri-food system that produces abundant and nutritious food, natural fiber, and clean energy to achieve prosperity for our rural communities.”

Examples of nature-based solutions include:

• Prescribed low-level fire—emulating tribal traditional practices— that reduce catastrophic risk, restore forest health, and protect habitat.
• Restoring wetlands and riparian areas to reduce flooding in coastal communities, protect biodiversity, and sequester carbon.
• Introducing more natural vegetation in cities, including trees and parks.
• Improving richness and diversity of our soils.

The California Natural Resources Agency has launched the California Biodiversity Collaborative to develop a statewide, inclusive and equitable approach to protecting the state’s natural richness. To reach that goal, the agency is developing a geospatial information system called CA Nature that will bring together existing data on biodiversity, climate change and recreational access into one integrated place.

The system will provide insight into where biodiversity hotspots intersect with needs for equitable access and carbon storage, for example, or help identify areas projected to experience extreme heat or flooding where green infrastructure is needed. This system will be publicly available.

More information on the 30 by 30 effort and the Biodiversity Collaborative is available at https://resources.ca.gov/Initiatives/Expanding-Nature-Based-Solutions.

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California has tripled and sustained its pace of administering the COVID-19 vaccine 

State identified need to simplify vaccine eligibility framework, standardize vaccine information and data, and administer available supply as quickly as possible

Vaccine Team directed to transition to a unified statewide network that will allow the health care system, providers and counties to do what they do best

New vaccine scheduling and data system My Turn launching early next month to streamline vaccination information for Californians and data reporting for providers

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced a series of improvements to the state’s vaccination plan. Incorporating lessons learned from efforts to increase the pace of vaccination, these new steps will make it easier for people to know when they are eligible for vaccination and how to make an appointment, accelerate the administration of vaccines on hand and improve the state’s ability to track vaccination data.

California has tripled the pace of vaccinations from 43,459 per day on January 4 to 131,620 on January 15. The ten-day effort to ramp up vaccinations exposed key improvements needed to administer even more vaccines when increased supply becomes available. Today, Governor Newsom announced actions to address these challenges by simplifying the eligibility framework, standardizing vaccine information and data and ensuring the available supply of vaccine is administered as quickly as possible.

“Vaccines are the light at the end of the tunnel, and I am focused on taking the steps needed to get Californians safely vaccinated as quickly as possible,” said Governor Newsom. “Our public health and health care systems have done heroic work administering more than 2.4 million vaccinations thus far. To reach the pace needed to vaccinate all Californians in a timely manner, we are simplifying and standardizing the process statewide.” 

Moving forward, there will be a single statewide standard and movement through the tiers. The state will continue through 65+, health care workers, and prioritize emergency services, food and agriculture workers, teachers and school staff. From there, the state will transition to age-based eligibility, allowing California to scale up and down quickly, while ensuring vaccine goes to disproportionately impacted communities.

Leveraging California’s spirit of innovation and technology, the state is also launching My Turn, a new system for Californians to learn when they are eligible to be vaccinated and a place to make an appointment when eligible as well as a mechanism to easily track vaccination data. Through My Turn, individuals will be able to sign up for a notification when they are eligible to make an appointment and schedule one when it is their turn. Providers will be able to use My Turn to automatically share data on vaccines received and administered with the state, reducing lag times.

Technology from California companies Salesforce and Skedulo, and implementation by Accenture, are the foundation for My Turn. It is currently being piloted in Los Angeles and San Diego counties and is expected to be available statewide in early February. Based on recent learnings, the Governor has also directed his Administration’s vaccine team to move to a unified statewide network that aligns the health care system, providers and counties with the strengths of each part of the health care system and ensures equitable and efficient vaccine administration, with a focus on communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19. This effort will be implemented in partnership with counties and local health districts. It will control variability and maintain consistency and accountability. The details of the system will be forthcoming this week.

To increase available supply based on existing in-state vaccines, the Department of Public Health announced a process that will allow for the reallocation of vaccines from providers who have not used at least 65 percent of their available supply on hand for a week and have not submitted a plan for administering the remaining vaccine to prioritized populations within four days of notice. 

Increasing the vaccine supply is the state’s top priority for the federal government as California accelerates the pace of vaccination. To date, California has received more than 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, roughly enough for 2 million people at two doses each. California has 3 million health care workers and nursing home residents, 6 million people 65+, and 2.5 million Californians who work in education and child care, emergency services and food and agriculture.

In a January 19^th letter to President Biden, the Governor named vaccines as California’s paramount priority with the Biden Administration. At the ramped-up pace, California vaccinates about 120,000 Californians a day and is on pace to deliver toward President Biden’s goal of 100 million vaccines in 100 days, if supply persists, and the Newsom Administration is committed to striving to vaccinate even more.

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross and Minister Rasmus Prehn of Denmark’s Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) focusing on dairy innovations and technologies addressing climate change.  The signing event, which was held virtually, included agricultural stakeholders from California and Denmark, and featured a presentation from the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment at Princeton University.

“In California, we have invested more than $264 million in Climate Smart Agricultural programs focusing on the dairy sector over the last five years,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross “This has resulted in more than 236 projects that will achieve a reduction in CO2 emissions of more than 23 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents over 10 years.”

“This partnership with Denmark on climate smart dairy collaboration will help to connect farmers, academia and government on the shared challenges related to methane emissions in the agricultural sector – providing the foundation for action and innovation in the future.”

This MOU continues CDFA’s international collaboration on climate smart agriculture activities. Over the last few months, the department has conducted webinars with Portugal (Lisbon and Tagus Valley) and South Africa (Western Cape). This adds to the ongoing work over the last five years which has included more than 10 webinars on climate smart agricultural issues with a variety of international partners.

Read the MOU here

Visit this link to register for the event

Virginia commissioner of agriculture Jewel Bronaugh has been appointed as the incoming deputy secretary at USDA, the number two position at the agency.

CDFA secretary Karen Ross: “It is exciting to see President Biden choose a colleague from a state department of agriculture and Jewel is a perfect choice!  I look forward to working with her and Secretary Vilsack who will provide strong leadership to USDA in support of American agriculture and its consumers.”

Story in AgriPulse:

President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Virginia Ag Commissioner Jewel Bronaugh to be the next deputy secretary of agriculture, the second highest position at USDA. If confirmed, she would be the first woman of color to hold the position.

Bronaugh, who has run the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services since 2018, served as Virginia state director for USDA’s Farm Service Agency during the Obama administration, starting in 2015. 

She also has a doctorate in career and technical education from Virginia Tech and spent time as the dean of the College of Agriculture for Virginia State University, where she oversaw extension, research, and educational programming.

USDA’s deputy secretary traditionally oversees the department’s day-to-day operations. 

Matt Lohr, a Virginia farmer who ran USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service under the Trump administration, used a Facebook post to praise Bronaugh’s selection. “America’s farmers and ranchers can be sure they have a true friend and advocate working for them in DC,” he said. 

The top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, said Bronaugh has the “background in farm services, research, and extension will bring a breadth of knowledge and experience to the department. As the first woman of color to serve in this position, she will be an important voice as the Biden administration works to address the many challenges facing our farmers, families, and rural communities. I look forward to learning more about her plans and priorities during the confirmation process.”

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said “Bronaugh has been a true leader — promoting the agency’s core mission while taking on new challenges, including our COVID-19 pandemic response and farmer mental health, focusing economic development to improve food access in underserved communities, and engaging youth in the field of agriculture. I am proud that she will be representing both the Commonwealth and all Americans in such a critical role at USDA and in this new administration.”

A bio provided by the Biden transition team notes her efforts to start the Virginia Farmer Stress Task Force in 2019. The task force was “organized in partnership with agricultural and health agencies and organizations, to raise awareness and coordinate resources to address farmer stress and mental health challenges in Virginia.”

Bronaugh has also worked to stand up the Virginia Food Access Investment Fund, a new program to address food access issues within historically marginalized communities. According to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, of which Bronaugh is a member, her time at Virginia State also included work as associate administrator for extension programs and a 4-H extension specialist, where she developed and delivered programs that addressed issues of bullying among today’s youth.

Bronaugh was one of a handful of nominees announced Monday including Elizabeth Klein, deputy director of the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center at the NYU School of Law, as deputy interior secretary, New York City Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg as the deputy secretary of transportation, and former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler as the pick to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Our administration will hit the ground running to deliver immediate, urgent relief to Americans; confront the overlapping crises of COVID-19, the historic economic downturn, systemic racism and inequality, and the climate crisis; and get this government working for the people it serves,” Biden said.

Former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was announced in December as Biden’s pick for another term as USDA chief. No date has been announced for his consideration before the Senate Ag Committee.

Link to story on AgriPulse web site

This video with CDFA entomologist Dr. David Morgan and Santa Clara County agricultural commissioner Joe Deviney takes an up-close look at stingless wasp releases to protect against Asian citrus psyllids.

By Emily Harwitz

To prevent the spread of the devastating citrus greening disease, the California Department of Food and Agriculture is releasing thousands of flea-sized wasps into neighborhoods around Santa Clara County in January and February as part of their Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention program.

The teeny wasps, called Tamarixia radiata, while harmless to humans, are highly specialized predators of the invasive Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), which is responsible for spreading citrus greening disease, or Huanglongbing. Since it was first spotted in Florida in 2005, Huanglongbing has ravaged the state’s citrus industry and spread to other citrus-producing states, like Texas and California. Though it hasn’t yet been found in citrus groves or the Santa Clara region, ACP’s have — prompting the state’s agriculture department to take preventative action.

“If we control the vector — the psyllid — we control the spread of the disease,” said Victoria Hornbaker, CDFA’s citrus program director. Though Huanglongbing (HLB) has only been found in California so far in several southern counties, “we have been finding psyllids in Santa Clara County for a number of years,” she said. “Using Tamarixia radiata is one way of helping to control the Asian citrus psyllid.”

HLB is a disease caused by a bacteria that makes the phloem, or living tissue, of a plant crystallize, essentially choking off the flow of nutrients through the plant’s circulatory system. There is no known cure for HLB, so once a citrus tree is infected with HLB, it is destined to die.

California produces 80% of all the fresh citrus sold in the United States. If left unchecked, HLB carried by ACP could devastate the state’s $7 billion citrus industry like it did in Florida. So far, HLB has not breached any commercial citrus groves in California, thanks to the state’s aggressive approach.

“The first initial response was to treat everything with pesticides, and it didn’t work because the urban area is so diverse,” said Ivan Milosavljevic, who researches biological control at UC Riverside. “A lot of private residences tried that and (the local ecosystems) collapsed. The next step was to develop a biocontrol program where you introduce some natural enemies from the native range.”

Tamarixia radiata are native to areas of Pakistan with a similar climate to California. They’ve evolved over time to parasitize ACP’s, which themselves have evolved over time to feed specifically on citrus plants — all in an evolutionary feedback loop leading to intense specialization.

When UC Riverside researcher Mark Hoddle first collected the wasp in Pakistan and brought it back to the United States, the USDA tested the wasps extensively “in a huge quarantine facility (at UC Riverside),” Milosavljevic said, “with, of course, a lot of permits,” to ensure they wouldn’t harm any native bugs.

“Biological control is great because it is very, very specific if you choose the right insect,” said Dr. David Morgan, who oversees the CDFA’s biological control program.

The miniature though macabre relationship plays out “very much like the film ‘Aliens,’” Morgan described. Tamarixia radiata “lays an egg inside its host and then the egg will hatch out and eat the host alive.” And from there, it’s on to the next host for the tiny wasp, which has been known to fly up to 8 miles to locate their next ACP meal.

Over the past year, there have been about 30 detections of ACP in Santa Clara County, said Hornbaker. “Those detections have slowed as we’ve gone out and done our activities with treating and releasing biocontrol agents” — meaning that the little wasps are working.

The biological control program is a collaborative effort between the Citrus Research Board, University of California, CDFA, citrus growers, and vigilant homeowners who report when they find ACP on their trees and then cooperate with the CDFA’s measures, which sometimes means coming in and removing a diseased citrus tree.

Symptoms of a diseased tree include yellowing or blotchy leaves, yellow shoots, and bitter malformed fruit. An early or excessive fruit drop may also be a sign of HLB. ACP’s can often be spotted by their nymphs, which exude a white waxy string-like substance. Anyone who suspects their tree of having HLB, ACP’s, or both, is asked to call the CDFA’s free pest hotline: 800-491-1899.

Link to story on the Pacifica Tribune web site

By Marshall Matz

Welcome to 2021! Hopefully, we will see the end of a terrible health crisis that has claimed so many lives around the world. The Executive Director of the World Food Program, David Beasley, has predicted that hunger will take more lives than the COVID-19 pandemic. This will put an even brighter spotlight on the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, announced on World Food Day, October 16, 2019 that he would host a Food Systems Summit in 2021 with the aim of maximizing the co-benefits of a food systems approach consistent with UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. He then announced two months later on December 16, 2019 the appointment of Dr. Agnes Kalibata of Rwanda as his Special Envoy for the 2021 Food Systems Summit.

Dr. Kalibata had been the Minister of Agriculture in Rwanda and is currently the President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). AGRA, headquartered in Kenya, is committed to growing Africa out of poverty by focusing on some dozen or more priority countries. Kalibata has a PhD in Agriculture from the University of Massachusetts. She was the 2019 recipient of the National Academy of Sciences prestigious Public Welfare Medal for her work to drive Africa’s agricultural transformation through modern sciences and effective policy, thereby improving livelihoods of small farmers.

Having grown up in a refugee camp on a small farm bought for her family by the United Nations’ Refugee Agency, Kalibata understands the struggles of a significant proportion of the world’s poor. Kalibata’s work as a minister gave her a chance to participate in the shaping of SDGs and now she is charged with helping the world step up its action towards coming through on SDGS in the next ten years.

What is the Food Systems Summit as defined by the United Nations?

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will convene a Food Systems Summit as part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The Summit will launch bold new actions to deliver progress on all 17 SDGs, each of which relies to some degree on healthier, more sustainable, and equitable food systems. The second of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals is to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.” The Secretary General was concerned that we were not on track to meet that objective, among the other SDGs, and in fact the numbers are moving further away from that goal over the last five years.

The Secretary General also recognizes that the way we produce food, and how and what we do between the farm and fork contributes to emissions, waste and is not sustainable. But he also recognized that the solutions to these challenges can be found in what we can do differently in our food system; hence the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.

The Summit will attempt to awaken the world to the fact that we all must work together to transform the way the world produces, consumes and thinks about food. It is a summit for everyone everywhere – a people’s summit- each of us has something to say and each of us can do something that can make a difference.

It is also a solutions summit that will require everyone, and all countries, to take action to transform the world’s food systems. There are times when making incremental steps towards a shared vision seems enough, but we are running out of time to correct course on our food systems. So yes, this must be a solutions summit and they must be outrageously ambitious in their actions.

The point people in the US Government for the Summit have been Under Secretary Ted McKinney and Ambassador Kip Tom, staffed by the Foreign Agriculture Service at USDA and USAID. Presumably, the people who are confirmed for those positions in the Biden Administration will continue to be our leaders for the UN Summit.

Guided by five “Action Tracks”, the Summit will bring together key players from the worlds of science, business, policy, healthcare, and academia, as well as farmers, indigenous people, youth organizations, consumer groups, environmental activists, and other key stakeholders. Before, during and after the Summit, these actors will come together to bring about tangible, positive changes to the world’s food systems.

What does the Summit aim to achieve?

The Summit process aims to deliver the following outcomes:

1. Generate significant action and measurable progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the face of COVID-19. The Summit will attempt to identify solutions and leaders and issue a call for action at all levels of the food system, including national and local governments, companies, and citizens.
2. Raise awareness and elevate public discussion about how reforming our food systems can help us all to achieve the SDGs by implementing reforms that are good for people and planet.
3. Develop principles to guide governments and other stakeholders looking to leverage their food systems to support the SDGs. These principles will set an optimistic and encouraging vision in which food systems play a central role in building a fairer, more sustainable world.
4. Create a system of follow-up and review to ensure that the Summit’s outcomes continue to drive new actions and progress. This system will allow for the sharing of experiences, lessons, and knowledge; it will also measure and analyze the Summit’s impact.

Why food systems?

The term “food system” refers to the constellation of activities involved in producing, processing, transporting and consuming food. Food systems touch every aspect of human existence. The health of our food systems profoundly affects the health of our bodies, as well as the health of our environment, our economies, and our cultures. When they function well, food systems have the power to bring us together as families, communities, and nations.

Too many of the world’s food systems are fragile, unexamined, and vulnerable to collapse, as millions of people around the globe have experienced first-hand during the COVID-19 crisis. When our food systems fail, the resulting disorder threatens our education, health, and economy, as well as human rights, peace, and security. As in so many cases, those who are already poor or marginalized are the most vulnerable.

Scientists agree that transforming our food systems is among the most powerful ways to change course and make progress towards all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Rebuilding the food systems of the world will also enable us to answer the UN Secretary-General’s call to “build back better” from COVID-19. We are all part of the food system, and so we all must come together to bring about the transformation that the world needs.

There will be a series of events planned in 2021 to further the process. A web site has been established to help interested parties follow this dynamic process.

There are Food Systems Summit Dialogues taking place across all countries in the world, giving all actors an opportunity to shape pathways that will lead to equitable and sustainable food systems by 2030. These are in part facilitated by Dr. David Nabarro, World Food Prize Laureate, and the World Health Organization’s special envoy for Covid-19. But the Summit is clear that many of these Dialogues will be country-led and other Independent Food Systems Summit Dialogues are open to be organized by any community and constituency that takes an interest. You can find more information on the dialogues and how to convene your own at the following website:

You can find the latest working papers of the Scientific Group chaired by Dr. Joachim von Braun on the Summit website:

All these give you and I, as ordinary citizens, a chance to give our views and contribute our ideas and innovations through online dialogues and platforms.

A pre-Summit will take place in Rome, Italy in July 2021 followed by the Summit to be held in conjunction with the UN General Assembly sometime during the week of September 20. Finally, it is important to point out that this Summit has been convened by the Secretary General and he alone will issue any report. It will not have to be negotiated by the UN Member countries or passed by the Security Council.

Marshall Matz is the Chairman of OFW Law in Washington, D.C. mmatz@ofwlaw.com.

Link to story on AgriPulse web site