Two agriculture projects at ASU East were singled out for more than $400,000 of funding in a spending bill approved by the U.S House of Representatives this week.
Rep. Ed Pastor, who helped obtain congressional approval for the funding, said he believes the ASU projects provide produce sellers and growers the information they need to make informed decisions about the produce market.
The Fruit and Vegetable Market Analysis and the Produce Pricing Data are projects of the National Food and Agricultural Policy Project within the Morrison School of Agribusiness and Resource Management at ASU East.
The NFAPP has participated in the creation of several legislative bills.
After September's terrorist attacks, the projects' analysis of the produce industry will be used to organize a food safety net.
The Fruit and Vegetable Market Analysis has been funded by Congress for nine years, with contributions totaling nearly $2 million. The Product Pricing Data project, in the works for two years, has received more than $100,000 in funding.
For 2002, the Fruit and Vegetable Market Analysis project will receive $340,000 to continue the economic analysis of the fruit and vegetable sector. The Product Pricing Data Project will receive $76,000 to continue to provide fruit and vegetable growers with real-time information on prices and product availability.
Between the two projects, there are about 30 undergraduate and graduate students involved.
Associate professor of agribusiness Paul Patterson said the analysis generated by the research projects is widely used in the agriculture industry, including helping Congress form legislation.
"ASU is the only policy research center in the nation that focuses on fruit and vegetable market analysis," he said.
Now that the House has passed the bill, the Senate is expected to follow its lead. If approved, the bill would go to President Bush for his signature next week.
Reach Dana Brody at dana5286@aol.com.
