Davis, California
February 4, 2009
Source:
American Society for
Horticultural Science
Specialty crops, including fruits
and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and nursery crops, have
become increasingly important compared to other categories of
agriculture in the United States over the past 50 years. These
crops have continued to grow in production value, but this
growth has not been matched by growth in public agricultural
research spending. In fact, spending on specialty crops research
has remained constant during a time period when the value of
production for these crops has increased significantly.
A recent article published in the August 2008 issue of
HortScience
reviewed trends in the economic importance of specialty crops
and public funding for research on these crops. Researchers
Julian M. Alston of the University of California, Davis, and
Philip G. Pardey from the University of Minnesota, questioned
the adequacy of funding for specialty crops and whether the
share of funding allocated to research these crops should be
increased.
Previous research has indicated that government involvement in
agricultural research and development is justified, because the
private sector typically invests too little in certain types of
R&D. The rates of return to publicly funded agricultural
research have been very high, suggesting that government
intervention to date has been inadequate, and that the U.S.
government could have profited from spending much more on
agricultural R&D, especially in the area of specialty crops.
Agricultural research in the United States is funded from a
variety of sources. Historically, the majority of funding has
come from the U.S Department of Agriculture. Other agencies,
including the National Science Foundation, the National
Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, the Department
of Defense, and the U.S. Agency for International Development
have been increasing sources of funding over the last several
years. Overall spending on R&D grew rapidly during the 1960s and
70s, but since then, growth has slowed and become erratic. In
general, support has stagnated.
The growth in the value of production of specialty crops has not
been matched by commensurate growth in public agricultural
research spending. There could be many benefits to increasing
funding in this area. One possible benefit is that there can be
a much larger social rate of return if it makes fruit and
vegetables less expensive and more available to more Americans,
encouraging people to eat healthier diets.
The authors concluded that although the evidence is mixed,
specialty crops research is underfunded and that a case can be
made for increasing funding going for research of these crops.
They suggest that a producer check-off program with a matching
government grant could be one way to give incentives to both
private industry and government agencies to enhance research
funding. The Australian government has implemented such a
program with much success. Another option would be to simply
redirect funds that would otherwise be spent on other types of
agricultural research.
The complete study and abstract are available on the ASHS
HortScience electronic journal web site:
http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/43/5/1461
Public Funding for Research into Specialty Crops
Julian M. Alston and Philip G. Pardey
ABSTRACT
Specialty crops have become increasingly important
relative to other categories of agricultural
production in the United States over the past 50
years, especially during the past 25 years. The
growth in the value of production of specialty crops
has not been matched by commensurate growth in
public agricultural research spending. The specialty
crops' share of spending on crops research (or on
all agricultural research) has remained
approximately constant during a period when the
specialty crops' share of the value of production
has increased significantly. This article reviews
trends in the economic importance of specialty
crops, and public funding for specialty crops
research, and examines arguments and evidence about
whether the total funding for specialty crops
research is too little and whether the share of
agricultural research funding allocated to specialty
crops should increase. Although the evidence is
mixed, we conclude that specialty crops research is
underfunded and that a case can be made for
increasing the share of agricultural research
funding going to specialty crops. A producer
check-off program with a matching government grant
could be developed to give incentives to both the
industry and the government to help enhance research
funding. |
Founded in 1903, the American Society for Horticultural
Science (ASHS) is the largest organization dedicated to
advancing all facets of horticultural research, education and
application. More information at
www.ashs.org |
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