“You can’t manage it if you haven’t measured it.” That is certainly true for investments in agricultural R&D. Countries that put more resources into agricultural innovation are better positioned to raise farm productivity to meet future food needs.

IFPRI’s Insights magazine (June 14) uses a scorekeeper analogy to describe ASTI’s role in tracking global spending on agricultural R&D. With ASTI indicators, politicians, R&D managers, farmer organizations, and the scientific community can compare how their country is doing, relative to others.

Some of the latest numbers are worrisome. ASTI’s 2012 global report (slated for release in October) may show a widening gap between countries that spend big on agricultural innovation and those that don’t.

“Many developing countries are seeing rapid population growth. More mouths need to be fed, and every hectare needs to be more productive,” says ASTI program coordinator Gert-Jan Stads. Agricultural research may be the only way to win the game.

Read the full story here: Measuring the Spending Gap