| JANUARY 30, 2012 -- On January 5th, the recently re-established Governor's Council for Agricultural Development, met for the first time in Hartford. The committee, re-established in part by advocacy work championed by Working Lands Alliance, is charged with finding ways to meet local demand for Connecticut-grown food and agricultural products and to grow the state's agricultural sector and economy. One specific task is to identify ways to increase the percent of CT-grown products consumed by CT residents from an estimated1% of all foods to no less than 5% by 2020.
"This is a tremendous opportunity to grow agriculture in our state," remarked Connecticut Commissioner of Agriculture and Council Chair Steven Reviczky, addressing Governor Malloy, Senator John Kissel, committee members, and other attendees including members of the Food, Farms, and Jobs Working Group that developed recommendations for the Council's consideration. The WLA is proud to have two steering committee members serving as members on the Governor's Council, including Henry Talmage, the Executive Director of the Connecticut Farm Bureau Association and Kevin Sullivan from Chestnut Hill Nursery and a director of the Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association.
The Food Farms and Jobs Working Group presented a white paper it developed for the council, noting that:
• Federal nutrition guidelines recommend that people, "make half your plate fruits and vegetables" in order to improve nutrient intake while limiting calories. Connecticut has 733 vegetable and 499 fruit growers, and the productive capacity of school and community gardens should not be underestimated.
• Food retailers represent a crucial opportunity for increasing the flow of CT-Grown products to consumers.
• Producers from the state's largest agriculture sector - the horticulture sector - are exploring opportunities for growing food crops in their fields and greenhouses.
• Approximately 10% of the state is regarded as 'land in farms' (321,393 acres of cropland, woodland, and pasture) and there is 70,000+ acres in the Long Island Sound available for aquaculture. |
