The 1994 Session of the General Assembly passed House Joint Resolution 224, establishing a joint subcommittee to study alternative strategies for assisting tobacco farmers (see Appendix A). The resolution contemplates an examination by the joint subcommittee of agricultural diversification programs which have helped farmers identify crops and enter markets that are more dependable and closer to home than foreign markets. In addition to diversification, the resolution suggests that special reinvestment programs represent an alternative which has the potential of revitalizing the tobacco-growing community by financing investments in such areas as agricultural infrastructure, marketing, research, risk reduction, and community development.