R.I.
Ag Day Offers Good News, Big Numbers
By
DAVE FISHER/ecoRI.org News staff
PROVIDENCE —
“Every day is agriculture day in Rhode
Island Rhode Island
To begin the day, Gov. Lincoln
Chafee signed into law the Local Farms and Seafood Act. This law will provide a
framework for funding the growth of local farms and fishermen as businesses by
creating a small grants and technical assistance program.
The act also charges
the DEM director with establishing and administering a program to promote the
marketing of Rhode Island seafood and farm
products grown and produced in the Ocean
State
A
three-member interagency Food Policy Council has been established by the act,
and it consists of representatives from the state departments of Health,
Environmental Management and Administration who will examine issues regarding
the development of a strong sustainable food economy and healthful nutrition
practices.
“Rhode lsland’s green and blue
economy are growing, and this law will continue to grow our outdoor green
economy," Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, D-Jamestown/Middletown, said.
Sen.
Susan Sosnowski , D-New
Shoreham/South Kingstown, said the bill would "offer some protection to
our state and regional food supply which are extremely important to the
environmental and economic health of our state.”
While the farms and seafood act
is a big deal, another major step forward for Rhode Island’s agricultural
sector also was taken at Agriculture Day, with the release of the preliminary
findings of the first Rhode Island Agriculture and Green Industry Economic
Impact Study, conducted by the University of Rhode Island in partnership with
DEM, the Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Association, the Rhode Island Turf
Grass Foundation, the Rhode Island Agricultural Partnership and the Economic
Development Commission (EDC).
This study culled information
from about 2,500 "green" businesses statewide, including farms,
landscape professionals, arborists, lawn and garden centers, plant brokers,
power equipment rental and sales, golf courses and masonry contractors.
The study was conducted by a
group of URI students under the guidance of Tom Sproul, an agricultural
economist recently added to the teaching staff at URI. Sproul, a University of California
at Berkeley graduate and recent Rhode Island
The study showed that these some
2,500 businesses contributed 12,300 jobs to the state, and generated $1.7
billion to the local economy. That $1.7 billion represents nearly 3 percent of
the state’s total economy.
“What made this study different
than similar studies is that we did our best to actually count people and
businesses,” Sproul said. "Rhode
Island
For many years, these businesses
have been viewed by economists and economic development professionals as
residing somewhat on the fringes of the state economy. But, "this study
shows that these industries are a major economic driver for Rhode Island
He stressed repeatedly during his
presentation that "these are extremely conservative estimates. We rounded
down and made sure that we weren’t double-counting any one person or business.”