Interim Chief Investment Officer Mark Kvamme of JobsOhio spoke to several hundred business professionals and entrepreneurs in Northeast, Ohio earlier this week. JobsOhio is a key part of Governor John Kasich’s plan to revamp the state’s economic development efforts; the privatized state development entity will take over offices and the majority of operations from the Department of Development. A new government office—the Development Services Agency—will retain responsibility for some programs that use federal money or state-mandated funds, such as the Third Frontier program; it also will be responsible for a handful of community development programs.
Kvamme made it clear in his remarks that a big part of JobsOhio's role will be to cut bureaucratic red tape and to “get rid of nonsensical regulations” that make it less attractive to do business in Ohio. He also said JobsOhio would not neglect agriculture and agribusiness, noting that he is a farmer himself; he owns a small soybean operation in central Ohio.
Ohio’s agricultural industry contributes $107 billion industry to the state economic growth and is responsible for 1 of every 7 Ohio jobs. The Ohio Agribusiness Association is pleased by Kvamme’s recognition of agriculture as an important sector of Ohio’s economy.
“We have been glad to see the administration and JobsOhio recognize the importance of agriculture,” said OABA President and CEO Chris Henney. As the discussion continues, OABA will continue to play an active role in ensuring agriculture and agribusiness remain important parts of JobsOhio’s efforts moving forward.