Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren have outlined the administration’s Climate Data Initiative and their views on how it aims to help technology and agriculture leaders ensure the resiliency of the U.S. food system.Vilsack and Holdren wrote Tuesday on the White House blog that several private sector companies and nongovernment groups have committed to support the initiative by leveraging technology developments and climate data, aiming to limit the effects of climate change on agriculture.
“We are delighted about the steps being announced by dozens of collaborators today, and we can’t wait to see what further tools, apps, and services are developed,” they said.
Industry commitments include Microsoft‘s free cloud computing resources for winners of a smartphone farming app development contest.
IBMÂ has also offered free access to its virtual supercomputer for selected climate change researchers.
The public can also view climate data through the Data.gov website as the federal government aims to make such data accessible and usable.
According to the post, the recent convention at the White House focused on collaboration to provide the needed information and tools to facilitate sustainable operations as well as minimize the agriculture sector’s own contribution to climate change.
