American Policy on Agriculture
The importance of Agriculture cannot be underrated in any given country. In this case, the government intervenes in Agriculture by placing policies or farm bills that regulate it. Therefore, the Agricultural Act of 2018, virtually guarantees assistance, assurance, and stability to the American farmers through farm support programs.
The United States is very much concerned with Agriculture; hence it sets up regulatory policies that last for a period of five years. Therefore, different programs are put in place to address Agriculture and food policy. These programs aim at improving nutrition, protecting crops (crop insurance) in and out of the field, and also preserving agricultural goods (Farmbill, 2018). In this regard, a significant milestone has been since farm losses are minimized, traders realize more income as foodstuffs are well conserved, and more importantly, a healthier nation is achieved.
This Agricultural policy was signed into law by Donald Trump, where it made changes to the 2014 statement. In this regard, minimal adjustments were made in Agriculture and nutrition concerning food policy. Conversely, crop protections through insurances and Agricultural programs are noted to exist as in 2014. Concerning conservation programs considered major, significant adjustments have been made, while those regarded as minor remains as in 2014. However, with trade, local and regional foods, research and extension, energy, and individual crops, programs have significantly been modified (Farmaid, 2018).
Primarily, the 2018 farm bill is noted to be less costly compared to the previous law, in the sense that the current will spend 1.8 billion dollars, which translates to one percent less than the last Act; hence, the government will save on other sectors in the economy. Moreover, congress budget regarding 2018 farm bill, illustrates that 76 percent of allocations will fund food and nutrition programs, 7 percent will fund conservations programs, 7 percent will fund goods and commodity programs while the remaining 1 percent goes to other applications,( Farmaid,202O). However, it is noted that the government target to spend more on nutrition programs, a move that shows how the government expects to achieve a much healthier nation.
This bill, besides having its advantages, also has some limitations. In this case, the bill fails to stipulate better regulations regarding fair pricing and well-streamlined value chain management, for instance, in dairy sectors. Also, less attention is paid to the effect of climate change on Agriculture. In this case, the government fails. Conversely, the bill succeeds in improving the farm proceeds protection and also covering the farmers against losses attributed to the natural disasters, (Farmaid, 2020).
Therefore, there is a positive correlation between politics and policies the government proposes and enacts in a country. In this case, if citizens are satisfied with the systems, then the current regime stands to benefit politically by achieving political mileage. In this case, for politicians to survive in political offices, then they should draft and implement policies that favor the majority of the citizens, considering their welfare and the good of the nation at large.
Work Cited
Farm aid, 2020. What’s In The 2018 Farm Bill? The Good, the Bad, and the Offal– Farm Aid. [Online] Farm Aid. Available at: <https://www.farmaid.org/issues/farm-policy/whats-in-the-2018-farm-bill-the-good-the-bad-and-the-offal/> [Accessed 3 May 2020].
Farmaid. (2018). What’s in the 2018 Farm Bill? The Good, the Bad, and the Offal – Farm Aid. Retrieved 3 May 2020, from https://www.farmaid.org/issues/farm-policy/whats-in-the-2018-farm-bill-the-good-the-bad-and-the-offal/
Farmbill. (2018). 2018 Farm Bill | Farmers.gov: Resources for Farmers and Producers. Retrieved from https://www.farmers.gov/manage/farmbill