Alabama A&M University President Daniel K. Wims testified before Congress recently, urging lawmakers to strengthen America’s agricultural defenses against emerging threats.
Wims appeared before the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology during a hearing titled “Surveying the Threat of Agroterrorism: Perspectives on Food, Agriculture, and Veterinary Defense.”
He was introduced by Subcommittee Chairman and Alabama Congressman Dale Strong (R-Huntsville), who called Alabama A&M and Auburn University “pillars of strength” in the state.
Wims Warns of Foreign Land Ownership and Farmer Vulnerability
Asked about foreign acquisitions of U.S. farmland, Wims warned about the vulnerability of southern farmers.
“Our farmers and producers throughout the Southeast are very open and very vulnerable. If they lose a season, they essentially lose the means to support their families and maintain their farms,” he said. He added that “awareness, education, and technical assistance are essential through our Cooperative Extension System, but that requires funding and stronger collaboration between research and extension, particularly against the terrorism dangers we face.”
Cooperative Extension System Needs Funding and Collaboration
Wims pressed for greater resources and time to protect the food supply, calling for strategies that integrate agriculture with modern technology.
“We think that awareness as well as education and technical assistance, with very clear and concise research to produce data-driven information from our researchers, but as my colleague on the panel said, that requires funding, and there has to be a better and closer collaboration between research and extension, particularly relative to terrorism dangers that we face,” he said.
“The challenge with us is being able to marry the agricultural sciences and research extension agents with our computer scientists and those professionally prepared in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. We have not done a good job with that.”
He also pointed to vulnerabilities in how food is produced, processed, and stored.
“We need systems in place – artificial intelligence, cybersecurity – to protect not just production but also the distribution, dissemination, and storage of food,” Wims said. “I also think that the type and way that we produce, process, and then distribute food has to be carefully studied in terms of the dangers that we face relative to a potential threat having access to food systems and the way that we distribute and store food.”
Rep. Strong noted the significance of the testimony.
“I am grateful to Dr. Wims for his participation in our hearing, marking the first time in Alabama A&M University’s history that a president has appeared before Congress,” Strong said. “His testimony before the Homeland Security Subcommittee offered valuable insights on the threat of agroterrorism both to me and other members of the Subcommittee.”
The panelists collectively called for expanded research, stronger partnerships, and sustained investment to protect the nation’s food supply.
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