New Report Calls for Stronger Public Sector Support for Agricultural Research

Private sector investment in conventional agricultural research has historically exceeded public sector investment by a factor of two or more. AGree, a group that connects thought leaders to build policy consensus on food and agriculture issues, released a new report detailing nine ways to improve the impact of public sector investment in agricultural research. The publication, Research & Innovation: Strengthening Agricultural Research, was informed by two years of meetings with more than 100 leaders in food and agriculture, and by five Point of View papers commissioned by AGree from independent authors.

Limited resources for public sector investment in research should be leveraged as efficiently as possible, according to AGree. “We need to make a smart investment even smarter,” said Deborah Atwood, Executive Director of AGree. “The need to modernize our research system has long been discussed behind closed doors – now it’s time to have an open national conversation about needed changes.”

Transparency is at the heart of the recommendations to make research data publicly available and to improve monitoring systems. Targeting agricultural research dollars more appropriately and tracking projects throughout grant periods will maximize returns on investment and build support for increased funding, according to AGree. Dan Glickman, AGree Co-Chair and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, said, “Important progress has been made in recent years to bolster food and ag research. Now we need to maximize return on the dollar, which begins with Congress holding a series of oversight hearings examining long-established federal funding models with fresh eyes.”

The impacts of agricultural research in the U.S. extend beyond the nation’s borders. Emmy Simmons, AGree Co-Chair and former Assistant Administrator for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade for the U.S. Agency for International Development, said, “It is breathtaking to consider the increased impact we could have globally if we leverage every ag research dollar. Whether it’s addressing hunger or helping to grow stable economies on a foundation of dynamic agricultural development, research and innovation are critical to achieving the results that will assure our global future.”

AGree will focus on convening a coalition of thought leaders and building partnerships to advocate for policy changes in upcoming terms, including a reexamination of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Research, Education and Economics (REE) mandate and practices. The group also intends to strengthen the ability of the new Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR) to identify opportunities for public-private partnerships.

Emily Nink

Emily is a masters candidate of the Agriculture, Food and Environment program at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston. She received a BA in Spanish and a BS in Global Environmental Change and Sustainability from Johns Hopkins University, where she was involved in many food sustainability projects including the creation of a community garden and leadership of the student group Real Food Hopkins, a chapter of the national Real Food Challenge. Emily worked for three years as a research assistant at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, researching food policy councils, writing curriculum for the Baltimore Food and Faith Project, and contributing to literature reviews and other scientific analyses. Emily's diverse academic interests include urban food policy and food system mapping, urban agriculture and community gardening, and sustainable supply chains. Her senior thesis at JHU explored heirloom tomato production in Maryland, and her current research focuses on sensory attributes of local produce in Massachusetts. She has contributed as a consultant to interdisciplinary projects and continues to be involved with Real Food Challenge. Through her masters degree at Tufts, she hopes to continue to learn from and contribute to the scholarship of a more sustainable food system, finding innovative solutions to complex system flaws, and increasing through investigation our knowledge of the intricate relationships between public health and the health of the environment.