NC H1188

Appropriates $250,000 to North Carolina State University for fiscal year 2014-2015 to develop a formal proposal and economic needs assessment for a "Plant Sciences Research and Innovation Initiative"

Initiative would establish a public/private partnership involving NCSU, other academic institutions, private agribusiness and bioscience companies, and state regulatory agencies

NCSU must submit the completed proposal and economic assessment results to the Agriculture and Forestry Awareness Study Commission by January 1, 2015

Bill cites economic benefits of agricultural research, including $19 return per dollar invested and potential for 378,000 new jobs in North Carolina's agribusiness sector by 2020