Overview
Advances in agricultural productivity
have led to abundant and affordable food and fiber throughout most
of the developed world. Public and private agricultural
research has been the foundation and basis for much of this
growth and development. Technology transfer holds promise for improving
incomes and welfare throughout the world. The major goals of this
ERS research program are to quantify productivity improvements,
and the sources of improvement, and to investigate the direction
and efficiency of the public and private sectors in enhancing the
stock of agricultural knowledge and in developing new technologies.
Features
Economic Returns to Public Agricultural Research—The U.S. agricultural sector has sustained impressive productivity growth over the last several decades. The Nation's agricultural research system, including Federal-State public research as well as private-sector research, has been a key driver of this growth. Economic analysis finds strong and consistent evidence that investment in agricultural research has yielded high returns per dollar spent. These returns include benefits not only to the farm sector but also to the food industry and consumers. (9/07)
Government Patenting and Technology Transfer—This report examines the use of intellectual property rights in Federal technology transfer, focusing primarily on the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). ARS uses patenting and licensing when a technology requires additional development by a private sector partner to yield a marketable product.
The First Decade of Genetically Engineered
Crops in the United States—Since 1996, farmers
have adopted genetically engineered (GE) varieties
of corn, soybeans, and cotton
widely and at rapid rate
and benefited from such adoption. While the level
of consumer concerns about foods that contain GE
ingredients varies by country, with European
consumers being most concerned, these concerns have
not had a large impact on the market for these foods
in the United States.
Crop Genetic Resources:
An Economic Appraisal—Crop genetic resources
are the basis of agricultural production. However,
crop genetic resources are largely public goods, so
private incentives for genetic resource conservation
may fall short of achieving public objectives. This
report examines the role of genetic resources, genetic
diversity, and efforts to value genetic resources.
See a summary
of the report in Amber Waves.
Agricultural
Productivity Drives Output Growth—Increased
use of inputs (such as capital, land, labor, and
materials) has typically been the dominant source
of economic growth for the U.S. economy as a whole
and for most of its producing sectors. Agriculture
is one of the few exceptions. Agricultural output
in 2002 was 2.6 times as high as it was in 1948,
but input use actually declined over the past half
century. Increased productivity accounts for the
difference. In recent years, however, productivity
growth appears to have slowed, raising questions
about future trends.
Recommended Readings
Agricultural Resources and
Environmental Indicators—The Agricultural
Research and Development chapter of this report describes trends
in public and private R&D (including biological innovations
and intellectual property rights), public-private collaboration,
and the relationship between changing industry structure and R&D.
Agricultural Productivity in the
United States—This report describes and explains changes
in U.S. agricultural productivity—an important source of U.S.
economic growth—and its output and input, for 1948-94. Included
is technical information about the USDA system for calculating productivity.
Agricultural Research and Development:
Public and Private Investments Under Alternative Markets and Institutions—Stronger
intellectual property rights have increased incentives for private
investment in agricultural research, but key elements still require
direct public support. USDA is also developing new mechanisms for
public-private partnerships in agricultural research.
Are Changes
in the U.S. Seed Industry Affecting Research Effort?—The
unprecedented growth in U.S. agricultural productivity over the
past 70 years owes much to a series of biological innovations embodied
in major crop seeds, in particular cotton, corn, soybeans, and wheat.
These innovations are the result of the investment of considerable
time and money into plant breeding research and development (R&D).
However, the seed sector has changed: seed R&D has moved from
being predominately public to predominately private, innovation
protection is now pervasive, and the private seed industry has become
highly concentrated. This article examines the extent of this shift
in R&D from the public to the private domain and whether or
not the shift is positively or negatively affecting research effort,
and potentially agricultural productivity growth. (1/04)
Science
and Technology Hold Promise for Developing Countries in the
21st Century—Many
technological advances in the last century have increased agricultural
production, but all world regions have not benefited equally.
Public and private investments in the development and dissemination
of innovations could enhance the ability of developing countries
to achieve income growth and provide sufficient food for their
populations. (1/04)
See all recommended readings...
Recommended Data Products
Agricultural Biotechnology Intellectual
Property—This database identifies and describes U.S.
utility patents on inventions in biotechnology and other biological
processes—with issue dates between 1976 and 2000—that are used
in food and agriculture. The database also provides information
about the ownership of these patents, whether patents are held
in the public or private sector, and changes in patent ownership
due to firm mergers, acquisitions, and spinoffs.
Agricultural Productivity in the
United States—This data set provides estimates of productivity
growth in the United States for 1948-2006, and estimates of productivity
growth and relative productivity levels across States for 1960-2004.
Plant Breeding Research and Development—A
summary of the growing and changing nature of plant
breeding activity in the United States. Based on a 1994 national
plant breeding study conducted by Dr. Ken Frey of Iowa State University,
the data provide the level of plant breeding effort (in terms of
staff years and estimated expenditures) in the U.S. by academia
and the public and private sector. The study is a comprehensive
accounting of national plant breeding efforts, and provides the
only national benchmark to compare current and/or future efforts
and developments in this critically important area of research.
See all recommended data...
Related Briefing Rooms
Related Links
|
