Agricultural R&D & Poverty

Agricultural R&D & Poverty Huqu Zhai (President) Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS)

Background(1) • Since reform and opening-up ,Chinese government has taken large scale actions to solve subsistence of the poor, invested actively in public goods, like agricultural research, education, road, communication and irrigation. • As a result, the population below poverty line in rural China has declined remarkably from 250 million in 1978 to 20 millions now, and the incidence of rural poverty has declined from 31% to 2.5% . China is one of the most successful countries in reducing poverty in the world.

Background(2) • Technology is the first productivity. During the past decades, agricultural R&D has played an important role in China’s agriculture growth, productivity improvement, which in turn increasing the farmers’ income, reducing poverty, realizing food security and society stabilization.

Outline • Ⅰ. Agricultural R&D is one source of agriculture growth • Ⅱ. The role of agricultural R&D in reducing poverty • Ⅲ. Challenge to agricultural R&D in China’s poverty alleviation • Ⅳ. Key actions for future poverty alleviation through agricultural R&D

Ⅰ. Agricultural R&D is one source of agriculture growth （1） • Like many other developing countries, China’s agricultural R&D contributes significantly to agricultural growth. Since 1978, the annual average growth rate of agricultural GDP is more than 4%, of which, the share of productivity growth’s contribution is about 71%.

Ⅰ. Agricultural R&D is one source of agriculture growth(2) • With the improving of China’s market mechanism, the effects of institutional innovation to agriculture growth is limited; arable land and agricultural labor are fewer and fewer, thus, agriculture growth will further depend on the development of agricultural technology.

Ⅱ. The role of Agricultural R&D in reducing poverty(1) • Return to agricultural R&D investment is high • Some studies indicate that the average return rate of agricultural R&D investment in developing countries is 40%-60%, in China it is 50%.

Ⅱ. The role of Agricultural R&D in reducing poverty(2) • The channels of agricultural R&D on poverty alleviation • First, agricultural R&D improves agricultural productivity, and thus, agricultural R&D can directly increase farmers’ income and help to create more employment opportunities in both rural and urban areas for the poor.

Ⅱ. The role of Agricultural R&D in alleviating poverty(2) • Second, agricultural R&D increase agricultural production and lower the food price ,allowing the absolute poor people to buy more food at lower price and live better .

Ⅱ. The role of Agricultural R&D in alleviating poverty(3) • The success of excellent researches benefit people across the world • Nowadays the development of China’s agricultural technology are closer to or reach the world frontier, many excellent research results are shared worldwide.

Ⅱ. The role of Agricultural R&D in alleviating poverty(3) • In some fields, such as new varieties selection and breeding of supper rice, high quality and high oil soybean , “Two-Low” rape and Transgenic Cotton, Animal Disease Control technology and bacteria research and development, Animal and plant nutrition metabolism, biology reactor, China’s research level is the first-class in the world and contribute a lot to the China and world’s agricultural research and people. The success of these research program produces not only economic benefits but more social benefits .

Ⅱ. The role of Agricultural R&D in reducing poverty (3) • For example, hybrid rice technology invented by Longping Yuan has been adopted by more than 30 countries and regions , planting area are about 1.5 million hectares, the increased crop production provide enough food for 70 million People .

Ⅱ. The role of Agricultural R&D in reducing poverty(4) • Agricultural R&D investment has significant effect in alleviating poverty. • In China, the effect of agricultural R&D in alleviating poverty is most remarkable among all the kinds of public investment and particularly significant in less-developed poorly-endowed.

Ⅱ. The role of Agricultural R&D in alleviating poverty(4) • One additional unit of input in agricultural R&D can increase near 10 units of agricultural output; every10 thousand Yuan of investment in agricultural R&D can save 7 people out of poverty, while the same amount of money can save more than 30 people out of poverty in western area, the poorest area in China.

Ⅲ.Challenge to agricultural R&D in China’s poverty alleviation(1) • First, there are some problems in China’s agricultural research system, such as repeated research among institutes, weak linkage between research and production .To some degree, these problems restrain the research progress and efficiency.

Ⅲ.Challenge to agricultural R&D in China’s poverty alleviation(2) • Second, the adoption rate of is as low as about 42% in China, more than half of the research outcomes are not used in production.

Ⅲ.Challenge to agricultural R&D in China’s poverty alleviation(3) • Third, the amount of investment in China’s agricultural R&D is less, for example, the governmental investment intensity of China’s agricultural R&D in 2005 is only 0.53%. Generally speaking, only one country’s investment intensity of agricultural R&D reaches about 2%, it can provide sustainable support for persistent and stable agriculture growth.

Ⅲ.Challenge to agricultural R&D in China’s poverty alleviation(4) • With the development of China’s economy, comparative advantages of agriculture are declining, consequently, agricultural resource, including land, water, energy and other resources, are transferred to non-agricultural industries, which dramatically restrains the agriculture development. Only technology innovation can break out of the resource restraint and promote agricultural development.

Ⅳ.The key of alleviating poverty through agricultural R&D (1) • First, building up a long-term mechanism of alleviating poverty through agricultural technology. The government must take some measures to enhance the linkages of research, extension and adoption, increase agricultural R&D investment, support the pro-poverty program of agricultural research and extension .

Ⅳ.The key of alleviating poverty through agricultural R&D (2) • Second, agricultural scientists should closely combine research projects with poverty-stricken areas’ agricultural production so that the research program can help the farmers solve their problems in production and promote them out of poverty.

Ⅳ.The key of alleviating poverty through agricultural R&D (2) • Of the 592 national designated poorest counties in China, 80% are located in west-south Karst district, Qingzang Plateau , Loess Plateau, drought or half drought area in Inner Mongolia grassland, mountainous and upland areas in central China, salty and alkali land areas. 60% centralize in western China, where ecology environments are very fragile, land degradation severe, lack of vegetation.

Ⅳ.The key of alleviating poverty through agricultural R&D (2) • Agricultural researchers should enter poverty-stricken areas, develop new appropriate agricultural technology, such as water saving agriculture, drought resistant agriculture, and develop special agricultural products, to help the farmers out of poverty.

Ⅳ.The key of alleviating poverty through agricultural R&D (3) • Third, the government should enhance to train farmers to help them master new agricultural technology and improve their capabilities. The science and technology departments of government should impel the advanced and appropriate research results to extend to poverty-stricken areas and promote the development of these areas.

Ⅳ.The key of alleviating poverty through agricultural R&D (4) • Anti-poverty practicersand agricultural researchers should work hard together to push the progress of poverty alleviation so that the poverty-stricken areas can develop rapidly and the poor people can live better.

Let’s Take Action for the World’s Poor and Hungry People! Thank You!

Agricultural R&D & Poverty