Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture's $180 million investment to launch the Seed Sovereignty Initiative, a program designed to protect American agriculture from foreign dependence and drive domestic innovation.
The initiative will fund improvements to the Agricultural Research Service’s National Plant Germplasm System, which stores more than 600,000 plant samples representing over 16,000 species. The department plans to sequence major crop collections to identify gaps and opportunities within these resources.
“Since President Trump returned to office, he has made it clear that we are putting American farmers first,” Rollins said. “For too long, the future of our crops and our seeds has not been a priority. That changes today, because we cannot afford to depend on foreign adversaries for next year’s crop.”
Foreign competitors have been actively acquiring and sequencing plant genetic resources worldwide, while U.S. collections remain largely unsequenced. The initiative addresses this vulnerability.
Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden called America’s agricultural resources “a strategic national asset.” He said the country needs to understand its vulnerabilities and avoid relying on foreign competitors for critical resources.
Over two years, USDA will sequence numerous collections using advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, to identify beneficial traits. This will help researchers respond faster to emerging threats and develop new crop varieties.
Dr. Scott Hutchins, USDA undersecretary for research, said modern sequencing will “unlock that potential and put it to work for American farmers, providing them a strong advantage.”
USDA also expanded its partnership with the Justice Department to strengthen competition in agricultural input markets, particularly seeds, giving farmers more transparency and choices.
