New Report Reveals Ag Isn’t On Track to Meet Rising Demand

New Report Reveals Ag Isn’t On Track to Meet Rising Demand

Russell Nemetz
Russell Nemetz
Global agriculture productivity is falling behind the curve according to a new report by Virginia Tech. “Global agricultural productivity growth has slowed from 1.9% annually during 2001-2010 to 0.7% annually during 2013-2022,” said Tom Thompson, the report’s executive editor, associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and director of CALS Global at Virginia Tech. “This dramatic slowdown will prevent us from reaching our agricultural production and sustainability goals by 2050, with potentially dire impacts on food and nutrition security, unless we reverse this trend.” Farm Journal reports agricultural productivity growth during this period was even lower in the U.S. – averaging 0.21% annually. The report’s authors attribute this in part to the lack of public funding in agricultural research and development. At the same time, South Asia led progress at 1.4%. Global total factor productivity should be at 1.91% annually to meet the demand projected in 2050, according to the report. But due to current productivity being so far below that level, it may actually need to rise to 2%.

Source: NAFB

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