FAMU President to Serve on Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee for Trade

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From Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) President Elmira Mangum, Ph.D., was selected by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to be a member of the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee (APAC) for Trade. Mangum was selected via a national competitive process.

In 1974, Congress established APAC to ensure that U.S. trade policy and negotiation objectives adequately reflect U.S. commercial and economic interests. The committee advises and makes recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative concerning the trade policy of the United States and the matters arising in the course of administering that policy. APAC also provides information and advice regarding the negotiating objectives and bargaining positions of the United States before our nation enters into trade agreements.

The committee has 39 members. President Mangum is one of only two university administrators selected to serve on APAC; the other is Won Koo, Ph.D., director of the Center for Agricultural Policy and Trade Studies (CAPTS) at North Dakota State University. The remaining committee members make up the who’s who of U.S. agri-business.

Commenting on her selection to APAC, Mangum said, “It is a tremendous honor to be selected by Secretary Vilsack to serve on this vitally important committee that is responsible for helping to shape our international agricultural trade policy. Agriculture is crucial to the economic well-being of Florida and the country.”

President Mangum’s appointment is a nod to the University’s essential role in the future of the agriculture industry.
“The University is poised to help provide new and innovative solutions to food production, food safety and security concerns, and the promotion of sustainable farming,” Mangum said. “Our research programs and research centers contribute to the advancement of new knowledge and scientific discoveries that have national and international implications through a variety of initiatives.”

FAMU’s current agricultural research includes the recent development of biological strategies to control invasive pests and plants like the Tropical Soda Apple, Japanese Beetle, Red Palm Beetle, Asian Black Carp, and many others that interrupt agricultural production, tourism, recreation, and commercial fishing. These invasive species also diminish local property values and threaten our honeybee colonies and the approximately $15 billion-related industry.