One of the most important problems of our day is the interaction between human population growth and the maintenance of sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change. I am currently sitting at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) near Manila where I am told they are responding to a 15-20% reduction in funding for their work. I have found this funding situation to be so ridiculous that I have decided to write this blog. Please stop reading if you think agricultural research already has too much funding, or that climate change and sustainable agriculture are not very important issues in comparison to our need for economic growth and increased wealth.

The critical issues here in Southeast Asia are the increasing human population and the productivity of rice agriculture. IRRI has done and is doing outstanding research to raise production of rice with new varieties and to control pests of rice with clever techniques that minimize the spreading of poisons, which everyone agrees must be minimized to protect agricultural and natural ecosystems. Present research concentrates on the ‘yield gap’, the difference between the actual production from farmer’s fields and the maximum possible yield that can be achieved with the best farm practices. The yield gap can be closed with more research by both social and natural scientists, but that is what is under stress now. IRRI operates with funding from a variety of governments and from private donors. Research funds are now being reduced from many of these sources, and the usual explanation is the faltering global economy combined with the severe refugee problems in the Middle East.

Consequently we now do not have enough money to support the most important research on a crop – rice – that is the essential food of half of the Earth’s human population. And it is not just research on rice that is being reduced, but that on corn, wheat, and any other crop you wish to name. Governments of developed countries like Canada, Australia and the USA are reducing their funding of agricultural research. Anyone who likes to eat might think this is the most ridiculous decision of all because agricultural research is an essential part of poverty reduction in the world and overall human welfare. So I ask a simple question – Why? How is it that you can visit any city in a developed country and see obscene excesses of wealth defined in any way you wish? Yet our governments continue to tell us that we are taxed too much, and we cannot afford more foreign aid, and that if we raised the taxation rate to help the poor of the Earth, our countries would all collapse economically. Yet historically taxes have often been raised during World Wars with general agreement that we needed to do so to achieve society’s goals. The goal now must be poverty reduction and sustainability in agriculture as well as in population. Important efforts are being done on these fronts by many people, but we can and must do more if we wish to leave a suitable Earth for future generations.

At the same time this shortage of funding should not all be laid at the feet of governments. Private wealth continues to increase in the world, and private gifts to research agencies like IRRI and to universities are substantial. But if we believe Piketty (2014), the rich will only get richer in the present economic climate and perhaps the message needs to be sent that donations are long overdue from the wealthy to establish foundations devoted to the problems of sustainability in agriculture, population, and society, as well as the protection of biodiversity. The inactions of people and governments in the past are well documented in books like Diamond (2005). Many scientific papers are mapping and have mapped the way forward to achieve a sustainable society (e.g. Cunningham et al. 2013). To make effective progress we must begin reinvestment in agriculture while not neglecting the human tragedies of our time. It can be both-and rather than either-or.

Cunningham, S.A., et al. (2013) To close the yield-gap while saving biodiversity will require multiple locally relevant strategies. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 173, 20-27. doi 10.1016/j.agee.2013.04.007

Diamond, J. (2005) Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Viking, New York. 575 pp. ISBN: 0670033375

Piketty, T. (2014) Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Belknap Press, Harvard University, Boston. 696 pp. ISBN 9780674430006