Context
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According to Global Agricultural Productivity Report 2021, Global agricultural productivity is not growing as fast as the demand for food, amid the impact of climate change.
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The report was released in conjunction with the World Food Prize Foundation’s annual conference. It primarily made use of data from the United States Department of Agriculture.
Key Findings of Global Agricultural Productivity Report 2021
- Total factor productivity (TFP) is growing at an annual rate of 1.36 per cent (2020-2019).
- This is below the Global Agricultural Productivity Index that has set an annual target of 1.73 per cent growth to sustainably meet the needs of consumers for food and bioenergy in 2050.
- Climate change has already reduced productivity growth globally by 21 per cent since 1961.
- In the drier regions of Africa and Latin America, climate change has slowed productivity growth by as much as 34 per cent.
- Middle-income countries including India, China, Brazil and erstwhile Soviet republics continued to have strong TFP growth rates.
- India has seen strong TFP and output growth this century. The most recent data shows an average annual TFP growth rate of 2.81 per cent and output growth of 3.17 per cent (2010–2019).
- In low-income countries, nearly all agricultural output growth comes from land-use change and forest and grassland destruction for cultivation and grazing. As a result, TFP in low-income countries was contracting by an average of 0.31 per cent per year.
- Policy reforms in the 1980s and 1990s generated respectable TFP growth in sub-Saharan Africa.
- But the region had been unable to sustain or improve TFP growth due to minimal investments in agricultural research and development (R&D).
- High-income countries, including those in North America and Europe, showed modest TFP growth.
- In the US, agricultural output had increased 36 per cent since 1982 due to the widespread adoption of efficient irrigation and precision agriculture.
Key Suggestions of Global Agricultural Productivity Report 2021
- Invest in agricultural research and development
- Embrace science-and-information-based technologies
- Improve infrastructure for transportation, information and finance
- Cultivate partnerships for sustainable agriculture, economic growth and improved nutrition
- Expand and improve local, regional and global trade
- Reduce post-harvest loss and food waste
About Total factor productivity (TFP)
- TFP tracks changes in how efficiently agricultural inputs such as land, labour, fertiliser, feed, machinery and livestock are transformed into outputs like crops, livestock and aquaculture products.
- TFP growth is influenced by climate change, weather events, changes in fiscal policy, market conditions, investments in infrastructure and agricultural research and development.
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