The world’s agricultural economy was transformed remarkably during the 20th century. The agricultural productivity growth that fueled this change was generated primarily by agricultural Research and development (R&D) financed and conducted by a small group of rich countries - especially the United States, but also Japan, Germany and France. In an increasingly interdependent world, both rich and poor countries have depended on agricultural research conducted in the private and public laboratories of these few countries, even if they have not contributed to financing the activity. But now the rich-country research agendas are shifting. In particular, they are no longer as interested in simple productivity enhancement. Dietary patterns and other priorities change as incomes increase. Food-security concerns are still pervasive among poor people, predominantly in poor countries. Food and nutrition security being the major concerns, agricultural R&D in less-developed countries is at the crossroads. Intensity of ARD in the developing nations is too little. But, it’s never too late. Technology gap between developed and developing countries is increasing both, qualitatively and quantitatively. Persistence of such a dichotomy may lead the developing nations into a technological orphanage. The technology-buying disadvantages of the developing countries are to be emphasized. Developing countries will have to become more self-reliant in the development of applicable agricultural technologies. Technological innovations must be combined with institutional innovations to ensure agricultural productivity.India has substantially increased its public funding of agricultural research since the late 1990s and this trend will likely continue in coming years. Nonetheless, India’s research intensity ratio, measured as public agricultural R&D spending as a share of agricultural output, continues to be relatively low. In the twelfth five‐year plan, the Indian Government addressed this deficiency by committing a significant percentage of AgGDP to agricultural R&D. No uniquely best system for all situations; goal is to find the most appropriate system. Investment in innovation is needed to support all components. Role of “institutions” is vital; partnerships and network are the cornerstones.

"The world's agricultural economy was transformed remarkably during the 20th century. The agricultural productivity growth that fueled this change was generated primarily by agricultural R&D financed and conducted by a small group of rich countries-especially the United States, but also Japan, Germany, and France. In an increasingly interdependent world, both rich and poor countries have depended on agricultural research conducted in the private and public laboratories of these few countries, even if they have not contributed to financing the activity. But now the rich-country research agendas are shifting. In particular, they are no longer as interested in simple productivity enhancement. Dietary patterns and other priorities change as incomes increase. Food-security concerns are still pervasive among poor people, predominantly in poor countries. In rich countries we see a declining emphasis on enhancing the production of staple foods and an increasing emphasis on enhancing certain attributes of food (such as growing demand for processed and so-called functional foods) and on food production systems (such as organic farming, humane livestock production systems, localized food sources, and "fair trade" coffee). In addition to growing differences between rich and poor countries in consumer demand for innovation, research agendas may diverge because of differences in producer and processor demands. Farmers in rich countries are demanding high-technology inputs that often are not as relevant for subsistence agriculture (such as precision farming technology or other capital-intensive methods). As well as differences in value-adding processes to serve consumer demands, differences in farm production technologies are emerging to serve the evolving agribusiness demands for farm products with specific attributes for particular food, feed, energy, medical, or industrial applications.The purpose of this volume is to document the changing institutions and investments in agricultural R&D in less-developed countries, in part to form a companion volume to Paying for Agricultural Productivity by providing a more complete global picture of the issues."

It is necessary to integrate field data relevant to policy with a global overview with up-to-date information for synthesis into scenarios and a vision of how future research and development in agriculture can best help those who are most needy and have little access to productive resources. The overall task is a huge challenge for policy-makers and the agricultural research establishment. It is also of concern in teaching agricultural students to be able to respond to future challenges. This publication is an attempt to stimulate discussion on future options of research policy, suggesting changes of agricultural R&D for societal development in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals.

"Noel Kingsbury reveals that even those imaginary perfect foods are themselves far from anything that could properly be called natural, rather, they represent the end of a millennia-long history of selective breeding and hybridization. Starting his story at the birth of agriculture, Kingsbury traces the history of human attempts to make plants more reliable, productive, and nutritiousa story that owes as much to accident and error as to innovation and experiment. Drawing on historical and scientific accounts, as well as a rich trove of anecdotes, Kingsbury shows how scientists, amateur breeders, and countless anonymous farmers and gardeners slowly caused the evolutionary pressures of nature to be supplanted by those of human needs and thus led us from sparse wild grasses to succulent corn cobs, and from mealy, white wild carrots to the juicy vegetables we enjoy today. At the same time, Kingsbury reminds us that contemporary controversies over the Green Revolution and genetically modified crops are not new, plant breeding has always had a political dimension."--Publisher's description.

It is believed that the major countries of the former Soviet Union—specifically Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine (KRU region)—are the part of the world with the most potential to increase food supplies and strengthen world food security. This book examines the future of the KRU countries in global agricultural markets and will examine a number of agricultural sectors, including meat, dairy, fruits, and vegetables. However particular attention is paid to the region’s potential expansion of the grain sector and why the KRU region emerged during the 2000s as a major grain exporter, and its potential to further expand grain production and exports. It also examine the issues of environmental constraints and trade-offs for agriculture, sustainability, and the possible effects of climate change

Given the importance of agricultural R&D investment to sustain agricultural growth in the future, this study looks at the state of agricultural R&D investment in LAC, with the goal of identifying the level of underinvestment in the region. To do this the study uses a new indicator, the ASTI Intensity Index (AII) to measure agricultural R&D intensity in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and compares research intensity with that of other regions and between countries within the region. The index can be used to identify potential under investors, determine intensity gaps and quantify R&D investment needed to close this gap by comparing countries with similar characteristics. Results obtained using a sample of 100 countries including 29 LAC countries show that despite rapid growth in R&D investment after 2004, the region shows low levels of intensity and the largest R&D intensity gap when compared to other regions. Results also show large differences between countries in the region. The Southern Cone (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay) is among the regions showing highest levels of research intensity globally. Low levels of R&D intensity in the region are explained mainly by countries in Central America and by Andean countries. Results also show that the intensity gap represents almost 75 percent of total R&D investment in 2012 and that the region will need to increase investment from $5 to $8.5 billion 2011 PPP to close the intensity gap.

This book—prepared by Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI), which is led by IFPRI—offers a comprehensive perspective on the evolution, current status, and future goals of agricultural research and development in Africa, including analyses of the complex underlying issues and challenges involved, as well as insights into how they might be overcome. Agriculture in Africa south of the Sahara is at a prospective tipping point. Growth has accelerated in the past decade, but is unsustainable given increasing use of finite resources. The yield gap in African agriculture is significant, and scenarios on feeding the world’s population into the future highlight the need for Africa to expand its agricultural production. Agricultural Research in Africa: Investing in Future Harvests discusses the need to shift to a growth path based on increased productivity—as in the rest of the developing world— which is essential if Africa is to increase rural incomes and compete in both domestic and international markets. Such a shift ultimately requires building on evolving improvements that collectively translate to deepening rural innovation capacity.