U.S. farmers and ranchers face a host of problems, from virulent diseases to antiquated manure-management strategies, that could be solved or greatly curtailed by scientific innovation. But the federal government has largely abandoned its role as a leading funder of agricultural research and development, writes Alan Leshner, CEO emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in The Hill. And the consequences, he says, are only getting worse.
“In 1940, almost 40 percent of the federal investment in research and development was dedicated to the agricultural sciences,” says Leshner. “Today, U.S. agricultural research funding represents less than 2 percent of the total.
“The agriculture sector is critical to the overall U.S. economy, accounting for nearly $1 trillion of our gross domestic product (GDP) and one in 10 jobs. Agricultural research and development funding has an estimated return on investment of 20 to 1. But the federal government’s support for the scientific innovation needed by this sector has run dry, and our farmers have lost too much ground to overseas competitors.”