Agricultural Research and Innovation

Our position

Agricultural R&D and innovation is among the highest-return climate investments available. In the United States, every dollar invested in public agricultural research returns an estimated twenty dollars in benefits to society. Overall, R&D and innovation drive productivity growth, which has lowered food prices, spared land, and cut food’s carbon intensity—the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per unit of product. And yet, public investment in agricultural research has been declining, in real terms, for decades. Reversing that decline—by doubling public agricultural R&D funding—is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase yields, spare lands, and keep food affordable.

Questions

Why is agricultural research important?

Agricultural research helps farmers produce more food with fewer resources and environmental impacts. Advances in crop breeding, biotechnology, fertilizers, machinery, and farming practices can increase yields, improve resilience to weather, pests, and disease, reduce land use, and keep food abundant and affordable.

What is agtech?

Agricultural technology, or agtech, includes tools and innovations that improve how food is produced. Agtech can help farmers increase productivity while using land, water, fertilizer, and other resources more efficiently.

What are examples of agricultural technology?

Examples include biotechnology, precision agriculture, robotics, sensors, artificial intelligence, and advanced irrigation.

Why should the government fund agricultural R&D when the private sector already does?

Companies tend to focus on R&D that can lead to profitable products and technologies. Public R&D complements that investment by supporting foundational and long-term research that is the basis for future breakthroughs, as well as research whose benefits are widely shared and difficult for any one company to capture.