Patrick Wade is the recipient of a 2023 Nuffield Scholarship generously supported by Bayer and will study the role of trade policy in achieving key sustainability outcomes in agriculture.
Patrick is currently serving as the Policy Director of Texas Grain Sorghum Producers which is a not-for-profit trade association with over 3,000 producer members. His role is to coordinate all state, federal and international legislative and regulatory strategies for the association and advocate for issues across all forms of media. He is also a Cleared Advisor on the USDA FAS Technical Advisory Committee for grains, feed, oilseeds and planting seeds for ongoing free trade agreement negotiations as well as emerging policy issues. He will explore the role that agricultural trade policies play in achieving sustainability and climate-change-related outcomes.
"The USDA estimates that world agricultural trade doubled from 1995 to 2014, and I have seen how critical trade is to the agricultural economy. The best-designed trade policies and rules-based trading systems can leverage massive volumes of economic activity to generate socially advantageous externalities and I believe that the binding policy language, rules and practices that will help achieve critical sustainability have not yet been developed, let alone understood by farmers and ranchers. By researching all segments of the supply chain and the work of intergovernmental organizations, I intend to bring greater clarity to, and ultimately guide better adoption of trade policies."
During his scholarship, Patrick will focus on the European Union which has been a leader in crafting policies for sustainability outcomes in agriculture. In addition, he will visit Asia, one of the fastest growing regions in the world and where agriculture is key to many ASEAN economies.
