Five dozen scientific, farm and activists groups proposed annual increases in federal funding for agricultural research to reach $6 billion over the life of the 2018 farm bill, double the amount now allotted. The groups, “involved in almost every facet of the U.S. agricultural sector,” said the two-to-one return on ag research justifies the investment when competitors such as China are taking command of the field.
“The United States has been second to China in total public agricultural spending since 2008. By 2013, China’s spending on public agricultural R&D became nearly double that of the United States… The results of this trend are a direct threat to the growth of our agricultural productivity, which has slowed in recent years,” the groups said in a letter to the Senate and House Agriculture committees. The $6 billion-a-year target would double overall spending on ag research and allow a doubling of the budgets for the four agencies that are part of USDA’s research, extension and education wing.
In an accompanying document, the groups presented 10 recommendations for ag research provisions in the 2018 farm bill. Besides the $6 billion target, they included an injection of $250 million into the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, created in the 2014 farm law to leverage private-sector funding. The package also advocated funding for a periodic report from the National Academy of Science “to identify scientific opportunities in food and agriculture and to institutionalize the long-term strategic planning and priority-setting for food and agricultural research.”
They also recommended continuation of the designation of the undersecretary for research to also serve as USDA’s chief scientist. “Preserving the present policy … will continue to empower both roles, improve scientific coordination, oversight and integrity, increase responsiveness, and raise the profile of food and agricultural research and USDA’s contribution.” The position of chief scientist is reserved for people with a long and distinguished career in ag research and education.