| Research and development played a significant role in making U.S. agriculture more efficient. Renewed investment can enhance productivity and reduce environmental impacts in a warming world. |
| Berkeley, Calif. — Today, the Breakthrough Institute released a new report detailing how two decades of declining investment in public agricultural research puts the U.S. economy and the climate at risk. The report authors, Breakthrough Senior Food and Agriculture Analyst Alex Smith and Director of the Food and Agriculture Program Dan Blaustein Rejto, describe research and development’s historical contribution to agricultural modernization and assess how public agricultural R&D can continue to drive significant climate and economic benefits.
Report authors available for interview. “With the fast-paced development of key knowledge, technologies, and practices, agricultural modernization has led to unprecedented levels of agricultural productivity. As described in the report, productivity growth has, in turn, reduced food prices, reduced land use, led to more efficient use of inputs, and cut the carbon footprint of milk, chicken, beef, and many other products,” said Alex Smith, Senior Food and Agriculture Analyst at the Breakthrough Institute and co-author of the report.
Federal R&D contributes to solutions that can diminish the risk of climate-related food insecurity, improve the competitiveness of U.S. farmers, keep food prices low, and reduce the overall greenhouse gas and land-use footprint of the global food system. Not to mention, research has shown that every dollar spent on public agricultural R&D has, on average, generated $20 in benefits for consumers and the broader U.S. economy.
Yet public investment in agricultural research has stagnated or even declined. “Allowing public R&D investment to continue to fall undermines American farmers’ ability to address increasing global competition and new threats, such as climate change, geopolitical strife, and the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dan Blaustein-Rejto, report co-author and Director of the Food and Agriculture Program at Breakthrough. The report and its policy recommendations are available in full at thebreakthrough.org. |
