Browsing by Author "Thompson, Tommy L."

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    2021 GAP Report Launch: Strengthening the Climate For Sustainable Agricultural Growth
    Steensland, Ann (Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2021-10-20)
    During the launch of the 2021 Global Agricultural Productivity Report (GAP Report), the newest data on agricultural productivity across the globe was revealed to be well below the Global Agricultural Productivity Index target. Through a solution-oriented discussion, experts across the globe discuss what we can do now to address the looming crisis.
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    2021 Global Agricultural Productivity Report: Climate for Agricultural Growth
    Steensland, Ann (Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2021-10-20)
    During the next 30 years, the world’s population will grow larger and more prosperous. Demand will soar for food and agricultural goods, including meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables, timber, oilseeds for cooking and industrial uses, and biomass for energy, heat, and cooking. At the same time, the natural resource base and ecosystems are under stress from climate change, soil degradation, and poor water management. Poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition remain stubbornly high, condemning hundreds of millions of people to ill health and unfulfilled potential. Accelerating productivity growth at all scales of production is imperative to meet the needs of consumers and address current and future threats to human and environmental well-being. The human, economic, and environmental consequences of not meeting productivity targets are profound.
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    The Case for Productivity: Invigorating agricultural systems for the twenty-first century
    Steensland, Ann; Thompson, T. (Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2021-06-15)
    Accelerating agricultural productivity growth at all scales of production is imperative to meet the needs of consumers and address threats to human and environmental well-being.
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    Filling the GAPs: Expert Essays
    Thompson, Tommy; Grove, Ben; Archibald, Thomas G.; Agnew, Jessica L.; Steensland, Ann (2020-10-12)
    Agricultural productivity is best expressed as Total Factor Productivity-TFP. TFP is a measure of efficiency in agriculture — the efficiency with which agricultural inputs such as labor, fertilizers and seeds are converted into outputs of crops and livestock. According to the the Global Agricultural Productivity Index (GAP Index), global TFP must increase by 1.73 percent annually to meet global goals for adequate food, feed, fiber, and biofuel for 10 billion people by 2050. When we fall short of this target growth rate, as we have each year since the GAP Index was developed in 2010, this creates a “productivity gap”. The productivity gap is worsening in the world’s poorest countries, where TFP growth now averages only 0.58 percent annually. The productivity gap threatens food security and often forces farmers to cultivate marginal lands, which can also threaten biodiversity. How do we close the productivity gap and get back on track to achieving global food security? This year, the GAP Report editors invited scholars and experts to submit essays based upon their research about strategies for closing the productivity gap and increasing agricultural sustainability and resilience.