The Texas State Agricultural Policy is prepared with the goal of ensuring that agriculture remains a vital force in the state. To this end, the state will assess the condition of agriculture and the role of state government and develop detailed follow-up action plans to guide governmental actions. The Policy considers and addresses the following issues: To improve food safety the policy recommends continuing efforts to support production of the safest food in the world with regulations based on sound scientific evidence. To make agriculture more productive and sustainable efforts will focus on the availability of capital aiming to facilitate access to capital through loans and grants authorized by the Texas Constitution for agricultural producers who have established or intend to establish agricultural operations in Texas; research and education efforts by encouraging promotional and educational programs involving all segments of agriculture; preservation of farmland, ranchland, timberland, and other land devoted to agricultural purposes, by encouraging the development and improvement of the land for the production of food and other agricultural products consistent with the philosophy of a private property rights state. Another objective of this policy is to enable more efficient agriculture and food systems. To this end, efforts will focus on: transportation issues, by ensuring an efficient and well-maintained farm-to-market road system and intermodal transportation to provide adequate transportation for agricultural products at competitive rates; state regulatory issues, by ensuring the efficiency and profitability of agricultural enterprises while at the same time protecting the health, safety, and welfare of agricultural workers and citizens of this state; State tax policy, by encouraging tax policy that promotes the agriculture industry, including production and processing; The promotion of Texas agricultural products, by promoting the orderly and efficient marketing of agricultural commodities and enhancing and expanding sales of Texas raw and processed agricultural products in local, domestic, and foreign markets;Eradication, control, or exclusion of injurious pests and diseases that affect crops and livestock and noxious plant and brush species; Ensuring that the borders of this state are secure from shipments of potentially dangerous plant and animal pests and diseases; Promotion of efficient utilization of soil and water resources, by encouraging efforts to sustain the long-term productivity of landowners by conserving and protecting the basic resources of agriculture, including soil, water, and air; promotion of value-added agricultural enterprises through efforts to increase the value of Texas agricultural products through processing, management practices, or other procedures that add consumer benefits to agricultural goods. To increase capacity for disaster and crisis risk management for agriculture and food efforts will focus on water availability issues, including planning for water supplies and drought preparedness and response, by ensuring that a high priority is assigned to the agricultural use of water. Regarding governance, Department of Agriculture of the State of Texas is the responsible authority for the administration and implementation of the policy.
Estados Unidos de América · 1999-01-01