Four Market and Policy Opportunities to Increase Agricultural Resilience

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December 04, 2018

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by Suzy Friedman, Colleen Willard and Stephanie Mercier (Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the Farm Journal Foundation (FJF) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA)) In July 2018, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the Farm Journal Foundation (FJF) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) convened, “Market and Policy Innovations for Resilient Agriculture,” a multi-stakeholder dialogue about opportunities to advance agricultural resilience.

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The conversation, while far ranging, anchored around the following questions:
 How can the private sector help farms become more resilient in the face of extreme weather?
 How can public policy at the federal and state levels improve agricultural resilience and encourage innovation?
 What role should the federal crop insurance program and other public-private partnerships play?
 Are there specific innovations or partnerships that could expedite resiliency?

Approximately 60 representatives from agricultural associations, conservation nonprofits, international organizations, congressional offices and media outlets attended the event and contributed to the discussion.

This white paper summarizes four recurring themes and priority actions that surfaced during the event.

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1. We need greater coordination and collaboration across state and federal policies

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2. We need investment in agricultural research

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In 2016, the Chinese government announced plans to invest $450 billion over the next four years to help modernize agriculture and scale up practices that increase food security while minimizing impacts to the environment. This commitment to agricultural research was three times greater than USDA’s total 2016 outlays of $148 billion for all programs and activities – a spending level that has not budged in years. In fact, 2016’s outlay was down significantly from $156 billion three years earlier. Yet research-driven innovation is pivotal to creating a sustainable and resilient food and agricultural system.

Three areas in particular need further research to advance agricultural resilience.

Better economic data ...

Tracking of environmental benefits ...

Soil sensor technologies ...

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Greater U.S. investment in enhancing the sustainability and resilience of our agricultural system and farmlands would not only deliver significant value to farmers, consumers and natural resources, but also create a model that other countries could emulate.

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Government dollars also tend to focus on issues that have broader social benefits, such as water quality, natural resources conservation and community development. According to the USDA, public sector research also tends to consider the longer-term, and to address a broader set of research topics than the private sector.

Public funding has been critical to advancing our understanding of soil health, water quality and climate change impacts on farmland. It has also enhanced knowledge about the benefits of crop rotations and strategic filtering to capture and treat nutrients that leave farm fields before they reach local waters.

When the private sector conducts research, they reasonably expect to sell the technology they develop at a profit. Private sector research is responsible for important innovations in variable rate technology, mapping technologies and improved farm equipment – all critical to agriculture today. At the same time, relying on private sector funding alone can lead to some inequities in farming.

Private sector funding tends to focus on the crops and geographies where they can make the most money, leaving out many research questions for less dominant crops and regions. Private sector research into tools like precision agriculture is critical to helping crop and livestock farmers manage variability and build resilience. Farmers with access to these technologies can now farm by the square foot rather than the field or acre. However, the profit motive of the private sector can lead to a focus on the development of high-end technologies that many farmers with smaller operations cannot afford.

3. We need better certainty and opportunities in the marketplace

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4. We need crop insurance to advance resilience READ MORE

Promoting Climate-Friendly Agriculture for the Benefit of Farmers, Rural Communities, and the Environment (SSRN/Natural Resources & Environment)

Promoting Climate-Friendly Ag Can Benefit Farmers, Rural U.S., Environment (NACSAA News)

Excerpt from SSRN/Natural Resources & Environment: There are evidenced-based practices farmers can use to increase resilience to floods, heat waves, droughts, and pests, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing soil carbon storage. Yet public spending in agricultural research and extension has not only declined in recent years, but has also remained focused on conventional methods, hindering the development and dissemination of these climate-friendly practices. This article argues that Congress should dramatically increase public funding for the research, development, and dissemination of climate-friendly practices, bringing significant returns to farmers, rural communities, and the public. READ MORE

And, as quoted in NACSAA News, "Instead of boosting support for agricultural research, however, the public sector has started to retreat from it - particularly research that doesn't match the priorities of agribusiness," (Peter) Lehner and (Nathan) Rosenberg write.

They note that President Trump's proposed budget for fiscal year 2019 would cut into publicly funded agricultural research even further.

"While public support for agricultural research has fallen rapidly, reliance on industry funding has increased, influencing researchers' priorities and agendas," they say. "The funding share devoted to diversified systems, which offer the greatest societal and climate benefits, will remain meager without robust public support."

The two attorneys note that states and nonprofit organizations have started to develop compelling models for supporting climate-friendly agricultural systems, helping to counteract the agrochemical industry's financial leverage. Nonetheless, they say, the federal government has a critical role to play in developing and disseminating climate-friendly agricultural practices.

"In light of the risks presented by climate change (and other environmental stresses), and the potential for agriculture to reduce these risks, Congress should, at a minimum, increase the [USDA's] research budget from $2 billion to over $5 billion," they write. The boost would increase relative funding for research from less than 2 percent of USDA's budget to about 4 percent, which was its average share between 1940 and 1980, a period when agricultural productivity rose quickly, in large part due to research funded by USDA.

While significant, this increase represents only a fraction of the roughly $20 billion spent annually on crop insurance and other subsidies. If focused on climate-related research, however, the additional funding would allow USDA and USDA-funded researchers to develop the tools, monitoring and measuring protocols, crops, breeds, and practices necessary for climate-friendly farming to thrive.

Relatively little of the $2 billion USDA currently spends annually on agricultural research goes to support climate- friendly practices, the authors state, asserting that the funds should be redirected to support "carbon farming," a suite of climate-friendly practices that recognize agriculture is capable of producing a number of public goods in addition to agricultural commodities, including an astounding capacity for carbon sequestration. READ MORE