Spitzer Seeks To Create Agribusiness Jobs Upstate

Governor Spitzer wants to link university researchers with high-tech companies to create jobs statewide and will bet on agribusiness jobs to fuel an upstate economic revival, according to an administration official.

Mr. Spitzer will also create a director of agriculture development, the state's first, to increase revenues and jobs in what is already one of the nation's largest farming states, according to official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because Mr. Spitzer's upstate speech isn't scheduled to be delivered until tomorrow.

Mr. Spitzer will propose that tens of millions of dollars be spent to make the "linkage" between universities and companies, the official said.

The proposals released yesterday are part of the "how" stemming from Mr. Spitzer's State of the State speech last week. He called for billions of dollars in spending on higher education in part to jump-start the state's economy, especially upstate were public and private universities and colleges abound. Those realities include a deficit projected at $4.3 billion, with economic forecasts showing a slowing the national and state economies.

"The worse thing you can do at a moment of economic uncertainty is to pull back from those investments that will build for the future," he said.