This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Last week, an international meeting in Sacramento, California,brought together agricultural, science and environmental officials.They attended the Ministerial Conference and Expo on AgriculturalScience and Technology. The United States Department of Agricultureand the Agency for International Development organized the event.
During the conference, Agriculture Secretary Ann Venemanpresented a report written by her department. The report advisescountries to support scientific discoveries in agriculture. It saysgreater productivity would improve economic growth and reducehunger.
The report identifies several technologies that researchers thinkwill be important in twenty-first century agriculture. Geneticresearch is one area. Tools that work with single molecules –nanotechnology — may also help research on plants and animals.Another area is bioremediation. This is a process in which organismscould be used to remove pollution from the environment, like oilspills. And better ways to use and spread information throughdatabases can help researchers around the world.
The administrator of the Agency for International Development,Andrew Natsios, also spoke at the conference. He said agriculturalproductivity in many developing countries is not increasing, as itshould. He said these countries should invest more in agriculturaltechnology.
Experts say developing nations invest less than one percent oftheir economic resources into agricultural research and development.Developed nations invest five percent.
One-hundred-eleven nations took part in the ministerialconference. European Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler was notpresent. European Union agriculture ministers were meeting inLuxembourg.
Hundreds of people demonstrated outside the conference inCalifornia. Large numbers of police enforced heavy security. Nomajor violence was reported. By the end of the four days, police hadarrested about seventy people.
Some activists opposed the conference as an event to support bigagriculture businesses. They demanded that more be done to feed thehungry. Others opposed bio-engineered food.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by MarioRitter.