Agriculture Needs Science, Study Says

Taylor Hillman General

Agriculture and Science
A new study shows the future of agriculture depends on science, especially in the forms of research and development. Sabrina Hill has the story.
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“Agriculture is more depended on scientific innovation than any other industry.” Those are the words of the Catherine Woteki, the USDA’s Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics.
She’s commenting on a new study published in the journal Science, which looks at the relationship between public and private investments in research and development, and their importance in agricultural industries. The study provides new details on the rapid growth and current changes of private investments in global agriculture research and development. It also traces the implications for agriculture.
The report finds globally, about have or more of all private investment in food and agricultural research and development has been devoted to food manufacturing – not areas that directly increase agricultural production.
For a link to the USDA’s news release, click here.