U.S. Department of Agriculture:

Status of the Food and Agriculture Councils Needs to Be Elevated

RCED-90-29, Nov 20, 1989

Contact:

John W. Harman
(202) 512-5138
contact@gao.gov

 

Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov

GAO described the Food and Agriculture Councils (FAC) and reviewed ways to revitalize FAC as a strategic management tool for the Department of Agriculture (USDA).

GAO found that: (1) USDA established FAC in 1982 to facilitate the flow of USDA-wide initiatives to the state and local levels and to provide feedback on issues affecting farm communities; (2) because USDA transferred FAC out of the Office of the Secretary, the FAC Director had little or no power to foster interagency coordination; (3) reduced interest in FAC activities affected FAC abilities to provide feedback to the Secretary; (4) although some FAC-proposed projects had potential nationwide applications, headquarters was slow to follow up on the proposals; and (5) without a strong national director at headquarters, there was little incentive for state and local FAC to focus on FAC missions and objectives.