“Solving the world's looming food crisis will require big investments in agricultural research, yet public support for that is lagging,” says an article in the National Geographic.
The article outlines how most increases in agricultural production in the past 50 years have stemmed from innovation as a resulted of investments in agricultural research. For example, scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) developed new, high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice that raised harvests and kept starvation at bay during famines in the mid-20th century. These ‘Green Revolution’ advances were funded by governments and donors.
Now, with yields slowing and little increase in public spending on agricultural research in developed countries, the task of feeding the world’s growing population amid changes in climate is an immense challenge.
Scientists and research groups are calling for renewed emphasis on—and financing of—publicly funded agricultural research.
“If we want to combat new strains of pests that destroy crops, find new crop varieties enriched in nutritional value, improve yields, develop resistance to disease and drought, and provide environmentally sensitive cultivation practices, then agricultural research must be a priority,” wrote Donald Kennedy, editor emeritus of Science, in the magazine's October 3 issue.
Read the full story: Here's Why We Haven't Quite Figured Out How to Feed Billions More People
Find out more about how the CGIAR hopes to increase investment in agricultural research on the CGIAR Development Dialogues website
