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- 2019 Global Agricultural Productivity Report: Productivity Growth for Sustainable Diets and MoreSteensland, Ann (Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Global Programs, 2019-10-16)The world must sustainably produce food, feed, fiber, and bio-energy for nearly 10 billion people in 2050. Using publicly-available data and peer-reviewed analysis, the 2019 Global Agricultural Productivity Report puts agricultural productivity growth at the heart of a global strategy for achieving sustainable diets, and more.
- 2020 Global Agricultural Productivity Report: Productivity in a Time of PandemicsSteensland, Ann; Thompson, Thomas L. (Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Global Programs, 2020-10-12)Agricultural communities battle pandemic-scale pest and disease outbreaks every year. The health and productivity of people, livestock, and crops are all vulnerable. Food and nutrition security, livelihoods, and environmental sustainability are all threatened by these outbreaks. The Global Agricultural Productivity Report lays out some of pandemic scale threats that must be addressed to ensure that we can sustainably produce food, feed, fiber, and bioenergy for 10 billion people in 2050. Agricultural productivity is not just essential for sustainably meeting the demands of a growing world. The technologies and practices that increase productivity can also be harnessed to cultivate resilience, especially to pandemics that can strike with little warning, with catastrophic results.
- 2021 GAP Report Launch: Strengthening the Climate For Sustainable Agricultural GrowthSteensland, 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.
- 2021 Global Agricultural Productivity Report: Climate for Agricultural GrowthSteensland, 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.
- 2022 Global Agricultural Productivity Report: Troublesome Trends And System ShocksSteensland, Ann (Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Global Programs, 2022)Global agricultural systems are being rocked by COVID-19, climate change, extreme weather events, and conflicts in Ukraine and elsewhere, driving up prices for food and agricultural inputs. The agricultural systems of high- and upper-middle-income countries are withstanding the shocks relatively well. However, food insecurity, malnutrition, and poverty rates have risen sharply, especially in low-income countries since 2020. In 2022, 40 million people faced emergency or catastrophic levels of food insecurity, twice as high as in 2020 and six times more than in 2016 (Food Security Information Network, 2022). The troubling trends in agricultural productivity growth are mainly unnoticed; updated data reveals that the world’s shock-sensitive systems rest on increasingly fragile foundations. Reversing the downward trajectory of global agricultural productivity growth demands urgent action from policymakers, leaders, donors, scientists, farmers, and others in the agri-food system.
- 2024 GAP Report: Powering ProductivityAgnew, Jessica; Nakelse, Tebila (Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2024)Agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) growth is critical for ensuring that agriculture can meet the growing global demand for agricultural products by 2050. However, since 2013, average annual TFP growth has fallen to just 0.7 percent. This requires another upward revision of the target TFP growth rate to 2 percent to achieve sustainable agricultural production. We urgently need to elevate our efforts to accelerate TFP growth annually. While research and development (R&D) remains a vital driver of TFP growth, it is clear that public and private R&D alone will not suffice. The 2024 GAP Report™️ emphasizes the importance of bridging the gap between innovation and widespread adoption—referred to as the ‘valley of death'—through the strategic bundling of productivity tools with socio-economic, policy, and distribution mechanisms. This report explores how these bundles, tailored to local contexts and integrated with existing proven tools, can overcome the barriers that prevent farmers from accessing and adopting technologies that drive sustainable productivity growth. From in-depth research to real-world stories, the 2024 GAP Report™️ sheds light on the pathways to unlocking the full potential of TFP growth for the benefit of farmers, society, the environment, and the global economy.
- Breakthroughs in Agricultural Productivity: Participatory Research and the PhytobiomeSteensland, Ann; Zeigler, Margaret (Russian Journal of Agricultural and Socio-Economic Sciences, 2022-01-17)Agriculture and food systems must provide nutrition and agricultural products for nearly 10 billion people by 2050. Agriculture is a powerful economic driver and by prioritizing agricultural productivity and innovation, food systems can become more resilient and improve the wider economy while generating employment. Yet, powerful solutions and approaches are needed that must move beyond “low-hanging fruit” when investing in low-income country agriculture systems. As part of the solution, we discuss innovations such as participatory research models from the International Potato Center (CIP) as well as how to unlock and harness existing plant genetics through the phytobiome.
- Building Africa’s first “e-Extension Platform” for smallholder farmersRyoya, Tasia; Steensland, Ann (Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative, Virginia Tech, 2021-02-24)Sasakawa Africa Association envisions an e-Extension Platform that provides smallholder farmers information about technology transfer, agricultural inputs, and markets at any time. The e-Extension Platform should not only improve agricultural productivity in the COVID-19 era, but also resolve the “information asymmetry” that can occur in agricultural extension throughout the value chain through the active use of ICT, even in the post-COVID-19 era.
- Building trust and closing the productivity gap in IndiaSteensland, Ann (Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative, Virginia Tech)Building trust between communities within agriculture systems overcomes barriers and facilitates the adoption of new technologies and practices for productivity and resilience.
- The Case for Productivity: Invigorating agricultural systems for the twenty-first centurySteensland, 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.
- The Case for Productivity: Invigorating agriculture for the twenty-first centurySteensland, Ann (Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2021-06-15)Animation covering the basics of productivity growth.
- Embedded Research Translation Report: Exploring the Use of Blockchain Technology to Promote the Production and Consumption of African Indigenous Vegetables in Western KenyaKristofikova, Nurvitria; Muskoke, Irene; Agnew, Jessica L. (AgUnity, 2021-08-04)AgUnity worked with Virginia Tech and Egerton University on the LASER PULSE-funded project entitled Exploring the Use of Blockchain Technology to Promote the Production and Consumption of African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) in Western Kenya. AIV value chains are characterized by transactional and informational inefficiencies that contribute to inconsistent supply and mismatched demand in Kenya. This research program explores how digital applications built on blockchain technology (BCT) can be deployed in AIV value chains in western Kenya, in a way that improves food and nutrition security for all value chain actors. Specifically, there was interest in understanding how the BCT-based smartphone application could assist groups of individuals who typically face constraints in accessing economic or nutritional benefits from value chain upgrading (i.e., smallholder producers, women, youth, low-income consumers). This project was one of the first times the AgUnity app was not deployed in a centralized supply chain context (i.e., with a union or cooperative supplied by hundreds of farmers). We have found that in decentralized supply chains, there is a particular need to ensure that the system supports the users' values and needs for conducting their respective value chain activities. When this is achieved, trust that is garnered through the use of the technology shall translate directly into more cooperative and coordinated value chains. Both the value chain app adaptation and configuration and the technology service design were built around this premise, using embedded research translation (ERT) processes to ensure that it was achieved in the target population and value chain. This report outlines the steps taken by AgUnity to translate Virginia Tech and Egerton University’s research into the adaptation and deployment of our proprietary BCT-based smartphone application. It is directed toward readers interested in understanding the product and service design of the AgUnity application, the use of BCT in digital platforms designed for last-mile users, and those interested in successful examples of ERT. It walks the reader through the value chain mapping and community immersion processes, the steps needed to adapt the technology to fit the local value chain context, and the development and selection of app functionalities for the target users and value chain. The report may be of interest to researchers, farming associations, and cooperatives or agricultural non-governmental organizations interested in the AgUnity solution as well as stakeholders involved in strengthening agricultural market systems, AgTech, or FinTech.
- Every Farmer, Every Tool: 2023 Gap ReportAgnew, J.; Hendery, S. (Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2023)The 2023 GAP Report "Every Farmer, Every Tool," explores the opportunities and barriers to farmer access and adoption of proven, appropriate tools for sustainable agricultural productivity growth.
- Extension and Advisory Services: Supporting Communities Before, During, and After CrisesGrove, Ben; Archibald, Thomas G.; Davis, Kristin (Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2020-10-10)Extension and Advisory Services (EAS) providers are important partners for communities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from shocks such as natural disasters and human, plant, and animal disease and pest outbreaks. EAS providers work long-term in communities to equip people with knowledge, skills, and technical resources to improve their livelihoods. EAS are provided by various actors including governments, nongovernmental organizations, private sector entities, higher education institutions, and other organizations. EAS often serve in bridging roles connecting resources from numerous actors operating in communities and are valuable conduits of information during shocks. EAS are seen as key partners in helping communities rebuild and strengthen food systems after the initial shock, given their long-term work horizons. There are numerous examples of EAS responding to crises around the world, such as HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Avian Influenza, malaria, and, more recently during the current COVID-19 pandemic. During COVID-19, EAS have undertaken an unprecedented shift to virtual and distanced programming as daily life has been disrupted through restrictions on movement and gatherings. EAS agents have been challenged to modify program delivery and remain effective in serving their clientele while navigating this new landscape. In this essay we explore examples of EAS supporting communities before, during, and after crises, and discuss implications for future EAS work, including considerations of lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic response.
- FES Champions Business-Driven Approach to Food System DevelopmentStevenson, Abigail; Steensland, Ann (Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative, Virginia Tech, 2021-02-18)Food Enterprise Solutions (FES) aims to tackle food safety issues in emerging economies, to the benefit of growing food businesses, consumers, and food systems as a whole.
- Filling the GAPs: Expert EssaysThompson, 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.
- Improving gender and nutrition outcomes of women poultry farmersSteensland, Ann (Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative, Virginia Tech)A program implemented by Tanager, an international development organization, is transforming the poultry sector in Burkina Faso.
- Innovative agricultural technologies and practices promote productivity and resilienceSteensland, Ann (Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative, Virginia Tech, 2021-04-13)Agricultural productivity is not just essential for sustainably meeting the demands of a growing world. The technologies and practices that enable producers to produce more output with the same amount, or less inputs, can also be harnessed to cultivate resilience. In addition to COVID-19, agricultural communities battle pandemic-scale pest and disease outbreaks every year. The health and productivity of people, livestock, and crops are all vulnerable, and resilience in the face of these threats has never been more important. The stories below describe how the GAP Initiative’s Supporting Partners are working with communities around the world to improve their productivity and resilience.
- International Women's Day: Hellen's storySteensland, Ann; Corder, Erica (Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative, Virginia Tech, 2021-03-02)Hellen Wanjiko Waweru, a Kenyan smallholder farmer, shares her farming practices, challenges, and hopes for the future in this documentary short.
- Investing in innovation and infrastructure in the International Year of Fruits and VegetablesCorder, Erica (Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative, Virginia Tech, 2021-01-28)Fruits and vegetables are essential for human nutrition. But they’re also beneficial to the food system: the fruit and vegetable sector can help benefit global efforts to generate environmental sustainability, increase biodiversity, and improve the livelihoods of farmers and employees along the value chains. Investments in traceability innovations and cold chain infrastructures can reduce post-harvest loss in the fruit and vegetable sector.