Research briefing: Are agricultural researchers working on the right crops?

A new study has been published which considers if agricultural researchers are working on the right crops to enable food and nutrition security under future climates. The authors, writing in the journal Global Environmental Change (November 2018), highlight how:

• Current research investments are positively correlated with the energy output of crops.
• For crops with the same energy output, investment levels tend to be lower for crops that are better adapted to future climates and that contribute more to healthy human nutrition.
• Sweetpotato, potato, wheat, broad bean, and lentil are underresearched relative to their contribution to healthy human nutrition yet show promise under climate change.
• Reallocation and redistribution of research funds for potential climate change adaptation option for food and nutrition security needs urgent discussion.

There is broad agreement that climate change represents a major challenge to the global food system. The IPCC (2014) report suggests that from 1960 to 2013 climate change had more negative than positive impacts on food production systems.This new study examines how crop-specific agricultural research investments can be prioritised to anticipate climate change impact on crops and to enable the production of more nutritious food.

The study used a  simple crop modelling approach to derive expected future changes in regional climate suitability for crops. To determine if different starch-rich and pulse crops are currently underresearched or overresearched, the authors examined the global relation between crop-specific research output (number of publications) and the total nutrient output available for human consumption. Their analysis shows that current research investments are mostly associated with the current energy output of crops. Other things equal, investment levels tend to be slightly lower for crops better adapted to future climates and tend to decrease as crop nutrient richness increases. Among starch-rich crops, maize, barley, and rice receive substantially more research investment than justified by their current nutrient output. Sweetpotato, potato, and wheat show substantial current research deficits. Sweetpotato is most strongly underresearched in regions with improving climate suitability. For potato, research deficits occur in regions where these crops will experience less suitable climate conditions. For wheat, the deficits are distributed equally across regions with negative and positive climate effects. Three crops are significantly over-researched, namely maize, rice, and barley. Among pulses, cowpea, and lupin are generally overresearched. Common bean is highly underresearched, but these deficits concentrate in areas where it will likely suffer from climate change. Lentil, broad bean, and chickpea are underresearched, with deficits concentrating in regions where these crops will tend to benefit from future climates.

It is hoped that this study will spark a more rigorous debate on improved targeting of funding allocation of nutrient-rich crop adaptation to climate change and that it will encourage future studies that expand and refine results. Future studies should also cover fruits and vegetables as well as neglected and underutilised crops, in order to fully consider the full range of crop R&D investment options for future food and nutrition security under climate change. Although agricultural research investment allocations will need to consider additional factors not taken into account in this study, the conclusions echo those of our own Grow Green reports and campaign by suggesting that current allocations need reconsideration to support climate adaptation and enhance healthy human nutrition.

References

1. Manners, R & Etten, J. (2018) Are agricultural researchers working on the right crops to enable food and nutrition security under future climates? Global Environmental Change, Vol 53: 182-194.  [accessed 18/10/2018]

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