A new report finds stagnant public funding for ag research threatens the future of U.S. food systems.
The report, by the American Farm Bureau and the Farm Journal Foundation, says that this poses a risk to farm productivity and profitability. It could also affect the steady supply of affordable food and ultimately global food security.
The consulting firm that compiled the report says that COVID should be a wake-up call that we need more research funding to address unexpected shocks.
According to Joe Somers, the VP of IHS Markit Agribusiness, “There will be increasing need to improve yields and production to feed a growing, global population. Climate change, pandemics, new crop pests and diseases, and animal diseases all pose potential threats to the U.S. and global agricultural economy.”
He goes on to say that funding has been stagnant for the last decade, but private sector investment in ag research has grown by 50 percent.