ASU’s new Center for Agriculture and National Security will provide research and policy guidance to secure food supply chains.
Geopolitical conflicts like the war with Iran have disrupted food supply chains worldwide.
A report from the International Food Policy Research Institute shows prices of the fertilizer chemical urea doubled between January and April of this year.
And that follows a similar spike in fertilizer prices after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Alicia Ellis is director of the new center. She says the program will help provide teaching and research for securing food systems in the U.S.
“Agriculture is traditionally an enormous strategic asset. So I want us to start thinking how we protect that strength, how we make it more resilient, and ultimately how we use it more deliberately as an element of American national power," Ellis said.
ASU says it has already partnered with the federal government to research how adversaries could take advantage of food vulnerabilities.
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