The San Diego Center for Molecular Agriculture (SDCMA) is an alliance of scientists from three public institutions, UCSD, the Salk Institute and the Scripps Research Institute. The SDCMA has two major goals. The first one is to increase the level of intellectual activity in plant molecular biology and other disciplines that relate to molecular agriculture in the San Diego region. This we do by organizing monthly research meetings for young scientists, holding symposia and inviting seminar speakers. The idea is to get scientists from different institutions to talk to one another to share ideas and technology.

The second goal is to organize outreach activities for non-scientists in San Diego and to raise people's awareness of the contributions that basic scientists in San Diego are making molecular agriculture. These outreach activities take the form of workshops, furnishing speakers for small meetings and the publication of brochures that help lay people understand the science that underlies agriculture.