Agricultural research and development (R&D) systems have recorded steady global growth over the past two decades, but capacity and investment across regions have been disparate, showed a new study.
Agriculture R&D expanded at an average annual rate of 1.8 per cent to reach $50.4 billion in 2023, data released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) showed. At the same time, the number of agricultural researchers grew at an average annual rate of 2.3 per cent, indicating a steady expansion in research capacity.
The findings are part of a newly launched data domain on FAO’s FAOSTAT platform, which builds on decades of collaboration with institutions such as the International Food Policy Research Institute and the former International Service for National Agricultural Research.
Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators, now included in FAOSTAT, are increasingly vital for assessing research performance and guiding policy and investment decisions.
Agricultural R&D is associated with lowering food prices and high economic returns, and it is increasingly central to improving the efficiency of resource utilisation, lowering carbon footprints and producing more output with fewer inputs such as land, labour and chemicals, and enabling key food crops to adapt to changing environmental conditions.
The FAOSTAT Analytical Brief: Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (2004–2023) provides a comprehensive overview of global and regional trends in public agricultural R&D.
Research capacity, expenditure
Regional patterns reveal significant disparities in both research capacity and investment. Asia dominates global agricultural R&D, accounting for 45 percent of researchers and 48 per cent of total expenditure in 2023. This reflects the large scale of agricultural systems and sustained investments in countries such as China and India. Europe accounts for 24 per cent of researchers and 20 per cent of spending, while the Americas contribute 14 per cent of researchers and 22 per cent of expenditure.
Africa, despite representing 13 per cent of researchers, accounts for only 8 per cent of global spending and Oceania remains relatively small in both respects.
At the country level, agricultural R&D remains highly concentrated. A small group of countries including Brazil, China, India and the United States accounts for a substantial share of global research capacity and expenditure. Meanwhile, many countries maintain small research systems with limited resources.
However, disparities persist across regions. Central Asia has recorded the fastest growth in both research capacity and spending, whereas Southern Africa and Southern Europe have experienced declines.Â
Agricultural R&D intensity, measured as expenditure relative to agricultural value added, further highlights disparities — the number of researchers per 100,000 agricultural workers ranges from as low as five to as high as 1,692.
The brief highlights persistent regional imbalances in Africa’s agricultural research capacity. While both western and eastern Africa have recorded notable growth in researcher numbers, northern and southern Africa have experienced declines over the same period.
In western Africa, the number of researchers nearly doubled, rising from 6.9 per 100,000 agricultural workers in 2004 to 13.2 in 2023. A similar upward trend is observed in eastern Africa, where the figure increased from 5.1 to 13.2 over the same period.
In contrast, northern Africa saw a sharp decline, with researcher density falling from 47.5 in 2004 to 13.2 in 2023. Southern Africa also registered a decrease, dropping from 27.1 to 20.7 researchers per 100,000 agricultural workers.
On average, countries invest about 1.3 per cent of agricultural value in research. Countries with the highest values included Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Republic of Korea, and Slovenia. While some countries exceed 2 per cent, many continue to invest at much lower levels. These differences reflect factors such as income levels, agricultural sector size, and trade dynamics.
These gaps underscore the need for more balanced and sustained investment to enhance global agricultural productivity and resilience.
