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Public funding of ag research lags
Public investment in agricultural research in the U.S. has declined in recent years, to the point where we now lag behind China in public funding for ag research.
Brazil and India also have increased their ag research expenditures at a time when U.S. spending has turned stagnant and even decreased.
Cathy Woteki, USDA undersecretary for research, education and economics, says one reason for the decline is that Americans don’t have to worry about food.
“For the broader U.S. populations, the food supply is great,” says Woteki. “You know, less than ten percent of my income over this last many decades has been going to food. We haven’t had any shortages.”
Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman agrees. He says in other countries, food security is a much higher priority.
“They’ve made this important—food security. They don’t want to have to rely on the rest of the world,” Glickman says. “They worry about droughts and about pests—and they worry about another revolution. If the peasants can’t get enough to eat, you know, we might see the whole thing start over there again.
“So they’ve made it a priority.”
Woteki shared a bit of good news: She says the farm bill, though still bogged down in Congress, appears likely to reverse the last few years’ decline in ag research spending.
Woteki and Glickman were part of a panel discussion on ag research held recently at the University of Nebraska.
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