Global Assessment of Spending

Globally growth in public agricultural R&D investments is no longer declining, but has in fact increased substantially during 2000 to 2008. Glober overview report coverMiddle-income countries have been the main drivers of global growth, including China and India as well as a number of other more advanced middle-income countries. Although overall spending in low-income countries increased as well, spending in numerous countries has either stagnated or declined in recent years. Furthermore, many continue to be highly vulnerable to volatile research funding.

Public Agricultural R&D in South Asia:
Greater Government Commitment, Yet Underinvestment Persists

New quantitative evidence presented in this report demonstrates that total public agricultural R&D spending in South Asia more than doubled between 1996 and 2009, while the number of agricultural researchers decreased by 6 percent. These trends were largely driven by India.cover image of report. Despite rapid increases in recent years, South Asia’s agricultural R&D spending is still very low compared with other developing regions around the world.

Private-Sector Agricultural R&D

ASTI, in close collaboration with Rutgers University and McGill University, collected and analyzed detailed information on trends in private agricultural research,Private Sector - illustration innovation, and policy in a selected number of developing countries. The findings of the study are presented in various country reports, briefs, and synthesis reports.

Agricultural R&D: Investing in Africa’s Future
—Analyzing Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities.
Reflections on the conference

ASTI is pleased to announce the publication of the conference synopsis, ASTI FARA IFPRI logoswhich synthesizes the paper presentations, panel discussions and deliberations by the conference participants. The conference was convened by ASTI/IFPRI and FARA with a goal to define a road map for revitalizing agricultural research in the region focusing on four principal themes:

African Agricultural R&D in the New Millennium
Progress for Some, Challenges for Many

ASTI is pleased to announce the release of the IFPRI Food Policy Report on Africa Agricultural R&D in the New Millennium: Progress for Some, Challenges for Many which assesses recent trends in investment and human resource capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa’s public agricultural R&D. Food policy report coverThe report analyzes information from comprehensive datasets derived from primary surveys conducted by ASTI during 2009 and 2010 in 32 African countries.