On October 19, 2019, CALS Global hosted an event launching the 2019 Global Agricultural Productivity Report (GAP Report) at the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa.  This was the 10th annual GAP Report and the first to be produced and published by Virginia Tech.

A crowd of 200 people from around the world attended the launch event, which featured several Virginia Tech leaders and faculty, including President Tim Sands and CALS Dean Alan Grant. The program also included Tom Thompson of CALS Global, Jason Grant of the Department of Applied and Agricultural Economics, Robin White of the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, and Megan Seibel of the Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education.

Dana Mulligan, Madi Dynes, Ben Barber and Parker Culver.
Dana Mulligan, Madi Dynes, Ben Barber and Parker Culver.

In total, 20 people from Virginia Tech attended the event, include four CALS students: Dana Mulligan, Madi Dynes, Ben Barber and Parker Culver.

The GAP Report panel discussion also featured Miguel Garcia-Winder, deputy secretary of agriculture for Mexico; Rose Mwonya, Vice Chancellor of Egerton University in Kenya; and Christi Dixon, agriculture engagement and advocacy manager at Bayer Crop Science.  Ann Steensland, project lead for the GAP Report Initiative moderated the panel discussion.

2019 GAP Report highlights concerns about stagnant productivity growth

The 2019 GAP Report shows agricultural productivity growth – increasing output of crops and livestock with existing or fewer inputs – is growing globally at an average annual rate of 1.63 percent. 

According to report’s Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Index, global agricultural productivity needs to increase at an average annual rate of 1.73 percent to sustainably produce food, feed, fiber, and bioenergy for 10 billion people in 2050.  

2019 Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Index

The 2019 GAP Report spotlights the alarmingly low levels of productivity growth in low-income countries, where there also are high rates of food insecurity, malnutrition, and rural poverty. Agricultural productivity growth in low-income countries is rising at an average annual rate of just 1.00 percent.  The UN Sustainable Development Goals call for doubling the productivity of the lowest-income farmers by 2030. 

The report calls for a strong focus on countries with high rates of population growth, persistent low levels of agricultural productivity, and significant shifts in consumption patterns — the primary drivers of unsustainable agricultural practices, such as converting forests to crop and rangeland.

The findings of the GAP Report received press coverage around the world.  In November, CALS Global was invited by the Farm Foundation to present its results at the National Press Club in Washington D.C.  The event also featured representatives from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, HarvestPlus, and the Sehgal Foundation of India. 

Tom Thompson, Ann Steensland, and Keith Fuglie, senior economist at USAID and the developer of the GAP Report’s productivity data, provided a briefing on the GAP Report for staff at the US Department of State.

The GAP Report and related materials are available online at globalagriculturalproductivity.org.  An event in Blacksburg featuring the GAP Report will be held in Spring 2020.