The world’s largest farm exporter, the U.S., is also a global leader in agricultural innovation. Consider GMO crops grown on nearly half of U.S. cropland and on 440 million acres in more than two dozen nations.
U.S. preeminence overshadows a startling change: China leads the U.S. by a large margin in government funding of food and ag research and development.
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According to three USDA economists, China surpassed the U.S. in public funding in 2009 and had a 2-to-1 advantage in 2013. They say reduced U.S. spending “may have negative implications for agricultural productivity” when dealing with new pests and diseases and with climate change.
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Of course, the U.S. remains a powerhouse of research. It is still the leader in agricultural science publications and in citations – an indication of high-value research – in addition to agricultural patents.
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Meanwhile, private-sector R&D has zoomed, partly because of the immense development costs – and potential profits – from GMOs. Now, federal and state funding provide a quarter of total U.S. funding on agricultural R&D vs. its longtime share of 50%.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: China overtakes U.S. as top government funder of ag research
