The Newark, Del.-based Produce Marketing Association has joined the steering committee for the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance (FACA).
The alliance is a coalition focused on defining and promoting shared climate policy priorities, according to a news release, and consists of organizations representing agribusinesses, farmers, ranchers, the food sector, state governments and environmental advocates.
PMA joins the four founding members — American Farm Bureau Federation, Environmental Defense Fund, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, and National Farmers Union — and 12 other members.
FACA, according to the release, said its three guiding principles include:
- Agricultural and forestry climate policies must be built upon voluntary, incentive-based programs and market-driven opportunities;
- They must promoted resilience and adaptation in rural communities; and
- They must be science based.
The release said FACA previously released 40 recommendations over six areas of focus: soil health, energy, food loss and waste, forests and wood products, energy, research and livestock and dairy. They are outlined in a 50-page report and summarized in a one-page hand-out found on the FACA website.
Congress and the Biden Administration have requested additional guidance on how to achieve the goals laid out in these recommendations and FACA is creating working groups to provide specific and actionable proposals, according to the release.
“For any incentive program to be meaningful, it has to be simple, transparent and provide tangible, immediate benefits,” PMA’s Max Teplitski, chief science officer, said in a news release. “PMA sees it as our responsibility to ensure just that, in collaboration with environmental groups, trade associations and non-profits, we will help drive the conversation on how to make these incentives meaningful.”
Teplitski said in the release that innovations in the fresh produce industry could serve the goals of FACA.
“While members of our industry don’t typically work with large acreages associated with row crop production or grazing on public lands, our industry pioneered organic and regenerative agriculture,” Teplitski said in the release. “We already implemented practices, such as mulches, soil amendments, and cover crops that build soil carbon. Let’s also not forget perennial crops – tree fruits, many berries and nuts – that sequester carbon at levels similar to forests.It is time that our industry is recognized for its efforts and C-sequestering practices are financially incentivized and supported.”
