Global challenges such as the recent food and financial crises and climate change highlight the need for continued and scaled-up agricultural investments in research and development (R&D), experts say.
The report ASTI Global Assessment of Agricultural R&D Spending, issued by the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI), Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators initiative (ASTI) and the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) reveals trends in R&D spending from 1981 to 2008.
According to the Global Trend 2012 report, following a decade of slow growth in the 1990s, global public spending on agricultural investments in R&D increased by 22 percent from 2000 to 2008 — from $26.1 billion to $31.7 billion. However, these numbers only tell part of the story.
Middle-income countries have been the main drivers of global growth in recent years. China and India accounted for nearly half the global increase but spending also rose significantly in a number of other more advanced developing countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Iran, Nigeria, and Russia. Growth was particularly strong from 2005 to 2008.
Government Agricultural Investments
Most notably, in Brazil and China, long-term government commitment to agricultural investments and R&D and a supportive policy environment have fuelled increased agricultural productivity, as well as overall economic growth. This demonstrates the benefits of sustained government agricultural investments.
Agricultural research spending in low-income countries grew by two percent per year on average from 2000 to 2008, with spending in many countries stagnating or declining. A large number of low-income countries, particularly in Africa, south of the Sahara, receive volatile research funding — often the result of the short-term, project-oriented nature of donor and development funding. Additionally, many R&D agencies in these countries lack the necessary human, operating, and infrastructure resources to successfully develop, adopt, and disseminate science and technology innovations.
Agricultural Investments & Developments
The report was
released in advance of the Second Global Conference on Agricultural
Research for Development (GCARD), a platform to encourage practical
collaboration among those working in agricultural research and
innovation and their role in development, which opened on October 29th in
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