Washington, DC
December 23, 2008
Source: USDA/ERS Breefing Room
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/AgResearch/
Overview
Advances in agricultural
productivity have led to abundant and affordable food and fiber
throughout most of the developed world. Public and private
agricultural research has been the foundation and basis for much
of this growth and development. Technology transfer holds
promise for improving incomes and welfare throughout the world.
The major goals of this ERS research program are to quantify
productivity improvements, and the sources of improvement, and
to investigate the direction and efficiency of the public and
private sectors in enhancing the stock of agricultural knowledge
and in developing new technologies.
Features
Economic
Returns to Public Agricultural Research—The U.S.
agricultural sector has sustained impressive productivity growth
over the last several decades. The Nation's agricultural
research system, including Federal-State public research as well
as private-sector research, has been a key driver of this
growth. Economic analysis finds strong and consistent evidence
that investment in agricultural research has yielded high
returns per dollar spent. These returns include benefits not
only to the farm sector but also to the food industry and
consumers. (9/07)
Government
Patenting and Technology Transfer—This report examines the
use of intellectual property rights in Federal technology
transfer, focusing primarily on the Agricultural Research
Service (ARS). ARS uses patenting and licensing when a
technology requires additional development by a private sector
partner to yield a marketable product.
The First
Decade of Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States—Since
1996, farmers have adopted genetically engineered (GE) varieties
of corn, soybeans, and cotton widely and at rapid rate and
benefited from such adoption. While the level of consumer
concerns about foods that contain GE ingredients varies by
country, with European consumers being most concerned, these
concerns have not had a large impact on the market for these
foods in the United States.
Crop
Genetic Resources: An Economic Appraisal—Crop genetic
resources are the basis of agricultural production. However,
crop genetic resources are largely public goods, so private
incentives for genetic resource conservation may fall short of
achieving public objectives. This report examines the role of
genetic resources, genetic diversity, and efforts to value
genetic resources. See a
summary of the report in Amber Waves.
Agricultural Productivity Drives Output Growth—Increased use
of inputs (such as capital, land, labor, and materials) has
typically been the dominant source of economic growth for the
U.S. economy as a whole and for most of its producing sectors.
Agriculture is one of the few exceptions. Agricultural output in
2002 was 2.6 times as high as it was in 1948, but input use
actually declined over the past half century. Increased
productivity accounts for the difference. In recent years,
however, productivity growth appears to have slowed, raising
questions about future trends.
Recommended Readings
Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators—The
Agricultural Research and Development chapter of this report
describes trends in public and private R&D (including biological
innovations and intellectual property rights), public-private
collaboration, and the relationship between changing industry
structure and R&D.
Agricultural Productivity in the United States—This report
describes and explains changes in U.S. agricultural
productivity—an important source of U.S. economic growth—and its
output and input, for 1948-94. Included is technical information
about the USDA system for calculating productivity.
Agricultural Research and Development: Public and Private
Investments Under Alternative Markets and Institutions—Stronger
intellectual property rights have increased incentives for
private investment in agricultural research, but key elements
still require direct public support. USDA is also developing new
mechanisms for public-private partnerships in agricultural
research.
Are Changes in the U.S. Seed Industry Affecting Research Effort?—The
unprecedented growth in U.S. agricultural productivity over the
past 70 years owes much to a series of biological innovations
embodied in major crop seeds, in particular cotton, corn,
soybeans, and wheat. These innovations are the result of the
investment of considerable time and money into plant breeding
research and development (R&D). However, the seed sector has
changed: seed R&D has moved from being predominately public to
predominately private, innovation protection is now pervasive,
and the private seed industry has become highly concentrated.
This article examines the extent of this shift in R&D from the
public to the private domain and whether or not the shift is
positively or negatively affecting research effort, and
potentially agricultural productivity growth. (1/04)
Science and Technology Hold Promise for Developing Countries in
the 21st Century—Many technological advances in the last
century have increased agricultural production, but all world
regions have not benefited equally. Public and private
investments in the development and dissemination of innovations
could enhance the ability of developing countries to achieve
income growth and provide sufficient food for their populations.
(1/04)
See all recommended readings...
Recommended Data Products
Agricultural
Biotechnology Intellectual Property—This database identifies
and describes U.S. utility patents on inventions in
biotechnology and other biological processes—with issue dates
between 1976 and 2000—that are used in food and agriculture. The
database also provides information about the ownership of these
patents, whether patents are held in the public or private
sector, and changes in patent ownership due to firm mergers,
acquisitions, and spinoffs.
Agricultural Productivity in the United States—This data set
provides estimates of productivity growth in the United States
for 1948-2004, and estimates of productivity growth and relative
productivity levels across States for 1960-2004.
Plant
Breeding Research and Development—A summary of the growing
and changing nature of plant breeding activity in the United
States. Based on a 1994 national plant breeding study conducted
by Dr. Ken Frey of Iowa State University, the data provide the
level of plant breeding effort (in terms of staff years and
estimated expenditures) in the U.S. by academia and the public
and private sector. The study is a comprehensive accounting of
national plant breeding efforts, and provides the only national
benchmark to compare current and/or future efforts and
developments in this critically important area of research.
See all recommended data...
Related Briefing Rooms
Related Links
Sources of Public Sector
Agricultural Research Expenditures
Public sector agricultural
research is conducted at both the Federal and State levels. In
the past decade, total expenditures on public sector
agricultural research, adjusted for inflation, increased
modestly, from about $4.5 billion in 1995 to $4.6 billion in
2005.
State-level institutions include the State Agricultural
Experiment Stations (SAES), land grant universities, and other
cooperating institutions (such as public and private
universities outside the land grant system). Research
expenditures at these institutions accounted for most of the
growth in public R&D. Between 1970 (when the data begin in
USDA's Current Research Information System) and 2005,
expenditures increased at about 2 percent annually (adjusted for
inflation). In comparison, the rate of increase for intramural
research expenditures at USDA was 0.2 percent annually. In 2005,
72 percent of all public agricultural R&D expenditures were at
State-level institutions. Expenditures at USDA agencies
accounted for the remaining 28 percent.
The sources of these research expenditures include Federal
institutions (USDA and other Federal agencies), State
appropriations, industry, and other miscellaneous sources, such
as private foundations and self-generated funds. Internal
sources account for almost all of USDA's in-house research
expenditures, but a small amount comes from other sources,
primarily other Federal agencies. One example is a set of grants
from the National Institute of Health (NIH). Between 1998 and
2005, USDA received 13 grants, ranging from $150,000 to $290,000
each, that were administered by NIH. These projects focused on
the impacts of vitamin A and carotenoids on the functioning of
healthy organs. This research aims to link USDA research results
to previous dietary intake studies that have suggested a
tentative association between diets rich in beta-carotene and
vitamin A and a lower risk of several types of cancer.
State institutions, largely SAES and land grant universities,
receive funds from USDA. These are often referred to as
"extramural" (outside the department) research programs.
"Formula funds" were one of the first means of administering
research resources. These block grants are distributed to SAES
based on a State's demographics (including rural population and
population living on farms) for use at the SAES' discretion.
State legislatures are required to match formula funds. In 2005,
formula funds from USDA accounted for $221 million of
State-level expenditures. USDA's National Research Initiative
(NRI) awards research funds through a competitive process that
uses panels of scientists to peer-review proposals and guide
funding decisions. In 2005, NRI research grants made up 2
percent of total public agricultural R&D expenditures at the
State and Federal levels ($89 million). Another 2 percent of
public expenditures came from special research grants that are
specifically designated (or earmarked) by Congress.
|
Federal and state research expenditures, 1995 and
2005
|
|
 |
While many people see USDA as the
primary source of State-level agricultural research
expenditures, funds administered by USDA only account for 20
percent of the total. From 1995 to 2005, funds from several
non-USDA sources grew in importance. Federal agencies, such as
the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Health, provide an
increasing percentage of State-level expenditures. Funds from
these other Federal agencies are generally awarded
competitively. The changes are even larger over the long term;
expenditures received from other Federal agencies tripled
between 1980 and 2005 in real terms, to $678 million for 2005.
The share of expenditures arising from industry sources,
self-generated funds, and miscellaneous non-Federal funds has
also increased.
|
