Agricultural Stalwarts to Beef Up Obama Administration

Drs. Islam A. Siddiqui and Roger N. Beachy are the latest agricultural experts to join the Obama Administration. Dr. Siddiqui, currently Vice President for Science and Regulatory Affairs at CropLife America, is a nominee for Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Previously he was CropLife America's Vice President for agricultural biotechnology and trade. The White House release notes his involvement in various capacities during the Clinton Administration, particularly as Department of Agriculture's Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, and Senior Trade Advisor to Secretary Dan Glickman and Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. He represented USDA in bilateral, regional and multi-lateral agricultural trade negotiations.

Dr. Beachy, the founding President of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri, will be the first Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) on October 5, 2009. The Institute, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), will "stimulate and fund the research and technological innovations that will enhance and make American agriculture more productive and environmentally sustainable while ensuring the economic viability of agriculture and production." Beachy is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and is internationally known for his groundbreaking research in developing virus-resistant plants through biotechnology.

For more details about these new appointments visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-More-Key-Administration-Posts-9/22/09/; http://bond.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=ecee0306-efdd-fafa-e9bc-5f4d3222a67c and http://www.danforthcenter.org/newsmedia/NewsDetail.asp?nid=176