The Foreign Service Journal, June 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2019 45 FAS VP VOICE | BY KIMBERLY SAWATZKI AFSA NEWS Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA FAS VP. Contact: kim.sawatzki@usda.gov | (202) 720-3650 Looking Forward to the FSJ ’s Bicentennial: FAS in 2119 As The Foreign Service Journal celebrates 100 years, it is intriguing to reflect on the history of USDA and the Foreign Agricultural Service and how they have evolved over the decades. For a detailed view of FAS history, check out Ambas- sador Allan Mustard’s May 2003 Foreign Service Journal article, “An Unauthorized His- tory of FAS.” However, anni- versary dates always make me equally curious about the future. What will FAS look like in 2119, when The Foreign Service Journal commemo- rates its bicentennial? The names of our pro- grams and even our agency may change, our functions may morph and fluctuate, and our funding will ebb and flow, but I am confident that much of our core mission will remain intact. No doubt there are many naysayers who believe that modern technology and the rapidly changing world will render our agency’s work extinct, but I believe that history suggests otherwise. Diplomacy and agriculture are almost as old as civiliza- tion, and it is impossible to imagine that either will cease to exist over the next century. How we perform our work will undoubtedly change in ways we cannot envision, but that does not mean that our function will change completely. Imagine tell- ing USDA’s first employee assigned overseas in 1882 that his successors would eventually fly to London in seven hours and send their reports back to headquar- ters instantaneously. At that point, Thomas Edison’s light bulb was only three years old, and the Wright brothers’ first flight was still decades in future. What hasn’t changed since then? Our critical func- tion of collecting, analyzing and publishing time-sensitive global market information on agricultural commodities. Agricultural trade dis- putes have been around for far longer than our nation; they were even a key catalyst for the American Revolution (Boston Tea Party, anyone?). FAS’ trade policy and nego- tiation role came much later, but it highlights our crucial governmental function of removing trade barri- ers, negotiating free trade agreements and working to establish international stan- dards. We may not always be able to avoid trade wars in the future, but our work may prevent agricultural conflicts from sparking actual wars. In the 1950s, FAS began its highly successful approach to market devel- opment through unique public-private partnerships with cooperator groups that represent a cross-section of the U.S. food and agricul- tural industry. Our specific programs and other ele- ments will undoubtably change—perhaps we’ll begin creating “sci-fi style” virtual food shows? However, even if what we do changes, collabo- rating to develop markets will endure, as partnership makes us all far stronger than if we work alone. If history is a guide, FAS’ food security mission is most likely to morph and move in the future. USDA’s interna- tional development function has bounced around between various agencies over the decades, and it currently weaves together many dis- similar programs. USDA played a key role in the Marshall Plan and in some other reconstruction efforts over the decades, but there has never been consistency in plan, scope or action. Congress passed Public Law 480 in 1954, which became the backbone of FAS’ food aid and market development efforts, but this and other food aid programs have been scaled back over the years. Many of FAS’ technical assistance programs have a relatively short history, We may not recognize the world in 2119, but I am confident that people around the world will still enjoy U.S. agricultural products 100 years from now, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will still have a role in making that happen. and their existence has often depended on outside or inconsistent funding. Although FAS will likely remain involved in interna- tional development in the future, this mission area will undoubtedly transform. We may not recognize the world in 2119, but I am confident that people around the world will still enjoy U.S. agricultural products 100 years from now, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will still have a role in making that happen. If you doubt it, feel free to have your great-grandchildren prove mine wrong during the FSJ bicentennial. n