by Stevel Lommel
The United States is putting itself at a global disadvantage by cutting funding for agricultural research.
As the federal government enacts severe funding cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and other supporters of agricultural research, it risks breaking our entire food system and threatens our national security.
Adjusted for inflation, U.S. investment in agricultural research has declined by a third since 2002. Meanwhile, the other top agricultural producers in the world — China, the European Union, India and Brazil — increased spending. China’s agricultural research investments have more than quadrupled since 2000, now accounting for twice as much as ours. The U.S. also invests less than the EU and, if these domestic cut continue, may soon be surpassed by India and Brazil.
Divesting from U.S. agricultural research opens the door for countries like China to control the world’s food supply and genetics. Other countries will become the new leaders in plant breeding for crops designed for their climates, soils, pests, weeds and diseases. Their food will become more affordable, safe and nutritious, leaving the rest of the world with no other option but to import less food from the U.S. and more food from those who invest in agricultural research. We cannot afford to lose the precious time and resources it takes to maintain food sovereignty. Once we fall behind, it may be impossible to catch up.
The U.S. food supply, and the agricultural research that supports it, has largely relied on federal funding for over a century and is run on a complex and collaborative engine of universities, government agencies, farmers and private companies.
Federally funded agricultural research helps put safe, affordable, nutritious and abundant food on our tables. It breeds better crops — ones with higher yields; better disease, pest, and weed resistance; improved nutrition; and improved tolerance to droughts, floods and heat — and leads to more efficient and sustainable ways to farm and raise livestock.
The federal government funds two-thirds of public agricultural research in the U.S. Most of these funds are distributed through federal agencies — primarily USDA but also NSF, NIH and others — to land-grant universities and other non-government institutions that conduct over 70% of all public agricultural research in the country.
Land-grant universities were first established in 1862 in partnership with the federal government to fulfill the country’s mission of being a leader in agricultural research, teaching and extension. Every state has at least one land-grant university primarily focused on state-specific agricultural issues. These issues are identified, researched and addressed through a collaborative partnership between federal, state and local agencies with cooperative extension system specialists embedded in communities across the country to deliver practical information to the public. A loss of funding and staffing within this network jeopardizes over a century of knowledge, relationships and infrastructure that will be exceedingly difficult and costly to rebuild.
Some leaders expect private industry to fill in the gaps when federal funding is cut but this will not happen in agriculture. Private industry needs a return on investment and marketable results at a faster pace than what is possible with agricultural research that can only go as fast as a crop or animal can grow. Thus, stable federal funding that accelerates research for increased nutrition, yield, resilience, affordability and profitability is necessary if we are to remain competitive with other countries and continue feeding our citizens with American-grown food.
We need to maintain a productive and innovative agricultural industry on U.S. soil for the benefit of our farmers, rural communities and consumers. Every dollar spent on agricultural research has a 20-to-1 return on investment for the U.S. economy.
Food and agriculture are the third-largest direct contributors to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product after healthcare and housing. Healthcare expenditures largely go toward addressing diet-related diseases like cardiovascular disease, stroke and metabolic disorders. When we invest in educating the public about healthy diets and researching better ways to get food on their tables, we can reduce the federal healthcare budget while maintaining food sovereignty.
But without federal funding for agricultural research, we will experience poorer health outcomes, more food shortages, higher prices, worsened disease outbreaks and more food safety issues. Tariffs and immigration policy will only exacerbate these issues.
Everyone eats food, so ensuring we have plenty of nutritious and affordable food is a bipartisan issue. Every single American benefits from the federal government continuing to fund agricultural research. Our ability to maintain our national security and the sovereignty of our own food supply depends on it. Our ability to support rural communities and remain economically competitive on the global stage depends on it. And, perhaps most importantly, our ability to affordably feed our families safe and nutritious food depends on it.
Lommel is chair of agInnovation, the system of experiment stations and research labs at U.S. land-grant universities. He is the director of the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service and associate dean for research at North Carolina State University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Lommel is recognized internationally for his research contributions to plant virus pathogenesis.