Page 6 - Strategic Plan

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Context and Challenges
Agriculture is fundamental to food security, envi- ronmental stewardship, and economic growth. As Florida’s second largest industry, agriculture con- tributes about 19% of the state’s workforce, about 15% of the Gross State Product, and almost $50 billion to foreign and domestic exports. Florida’s tropical climate provides the agriculture indus- try with a major advantage to produce a range of tropical and subtropical products and a growing season which on average is about 150 days longer than other regions of the country. Florida is a ma- jor producer of specialty crops, including fruits, vegetables, nursery crops, and nuts. Our state ranks first in the United States in the production value of oranges, grapefruit, tropical fruits such as mango, lychee, longan, mamey sapote, guava and dragon fruit. It also ranks first in tropical foliage plants and in the production of snap beans, cu- cumbers, squash, watermelon, cultivated greens, and fresh market tomatoes; second in the produc- tion of all fresh market vegetables, bell peppers, strawberries, and tangerines, and in the produc- tion of greenhouse and nursery products.
Along with its successes, Florida’s agriculture fac- es several challenges and issues that threaten its viability and future. These include higher competi- tion from cheaper fruit and vegetable imports; the continuing loss of cropland due to foreign compe- tition, urban and commercial development, resto- ration of the Everglades, soil erosion and degrada- tion, increased competition for water, pests and diseases, hurricanes and other natural disasters; climate change and rising sea levels, farm labor shortages, higher labor costs, and fewer farmers. While there has been a decrease in cropland and orchards, nurseries and greenhouses represent a growing segment of south Florida’s agriculture and the potential to develop new agricultural ac- tivities such as industrial hemp and vanilla.
The UF/IFAS, Tropical Research and Education Center (UF/IFAS/TREC), which has a long and dis- tinguished history, is nationally and internation- ally recognized for developing and disseminating science-based information and addressing prob-