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Study: Public funding is stagnant for ag  R&D
By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C.— A March 25 panel discussion hosted by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and Farm Journal Foundation called attention to stagnant public funding for agricultural research that poses risks to farm productivity, profitability, and safety. Discussing a recently commissioned AFBF-Farm Journal report that highlights the importance of public funding for agricultural research and development (R&D) were AFBF President Zippy Duvall, Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Bloomington-Normal), California Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley), Dan Glickman, Distinguished Fellow, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and others. 
“COVID-19 should be a wake-up call that more public research funding is needed to address unexpected shocks,” said Tricia Beal, CEO of Farm Journal Foundation. “The pandemic created huge challenges for agricultural supply chains around the world. It also showed just how quickly pathogens can spread. Increased public support for agricultural research is crucial for finding solutions to make our entire food system more resilient.” 
The report, authored by the IHS Markit Agribusiness Consulting Group, found that public R&D investment has remained flat over the past decade while U.S. competitors including China, Brazil and India have accelerated public funding for agricultural R&D. Public research spending is vital to filling the gaps in private investment dollars, which are often directed to high-value opportunities in major crop and livestock categories that generate profits, the study asserts. 
Farmers and stakeholders would particularly benefit from additional public research spending in the areas of crop breeding, crop protection, animal health, animal disease and foodborne illness, climate research and food and agricultural supply chains.
“The U.S. has always been a leader in agricultural innovation, but we’re at risk of losing that advantage by falling behind the rest of the world in research and development,” said Duvall. “This report shows the clear need for agricultural research to benefit not only farmers, but our entire food system and every person who eats. Research will unlock the answers to growing more crops even as we face increasingly volatile weather, help to create a more resilient food system supply chain, and provide food that’s higher in nutritional value. It’s the golden ticket.”
The study further concludes that public research will be key in feeding a growing world population, which is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050. To meet the projected demand, food production will need to increase by 60 to 70 percent — a goal that can only be attained by pushing more money into public agricultural research.
There are currently five research agencies under the umbrella of the USDA: The Agricultural Research Service, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Forest Service, The Economic Research Service, and the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Between these five agencies, there is currently around $4.2 billion budgeted for agricultural research, compared to a similar $4.1 billion in 2010, according to Scott Bennett, AFBF congressional relations director. 
“Other countries are boosting their public investment in agriculture. China became the largest funder of public agricultural research and development globally in 2009 with their funding increasing significantly since then. India and Brazil have also recently increased their public agricultural research and development funding. It is imperative that we increase our public research, so our farmers have the latest and greatest tools to feed the world,” Bennett said.
Data provided by the USDA Economic Research Service shows that public agricultural R&D investment peaked in 2002 at $6.045 billion, followed by 12 consecutive years of declining investment before bottoming out in 2014. Since then, public ag R&D investment has remained flat. Coincidentally, in 2014 both private food and agriculture and private ag input research investment values reached their plateaus. 
Studies consistently find high returns (commonly, 20-60 percent) from public funded agricultural research, according to a study published by the University of Illinois. “While some countries, notably China, are increasing public funds, inflation-adjusted U.S. funds have declined since around 2005, with declines in actual dollars spent in more recent years,” according to the 2017 report, Public Funding of Agricultural Research: Assessment and Suggested New Paradigm, authored by Carl Zulauf, Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economic at Ohio State University, and Constance Cullman, Dept. of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois.
“Since the Hatch Act was enacted in 1887, public funding of agricultural research has been a U.S. priority and often is cited as a cornerstone for U.S. agricultural abundance. Public funding currently is centered in Title VII of the Agricultural Act of 2014. Researchers and some stakeholders contend Title VII is inadequately funded to meet today’s need to produce more using sustainable methods,” the U of I report reads, in part. 
A common explanation for the steady erosion in public funding for farm research R&D, according to Zulauf and Cullman, is “high private market returns to agricultural research, especially with the extension of intellectual property rights to biological innovations and increasing agricultural production and trade around the world. 
“Indeed, U.S. private sector spending on agricultural research has increased, nearly doubling since 2003. Other factors may be more important. U.S. consumers now spend under two percent of their income on the U.S. produced farm value of food; it was 12 percent in 1947. As a result, the long-standing mantra of public agricultural research, ‘growing two blades of grass where one grew before’ no longer resonates, resulting in waning societal support.”
4/12/2021