Africa Receives Only 8 Percent of Global Agricultural Research Spending

Global agricultural research and development spending reached $50.4 billion in 2023, growing at an average annual rate of 1.8 per cent over two decades, but regional investment is sharply unequal, with Africa receiving only 8 per cent of total expenditure despite housing 13 per cent of global agricultural researchers, according to new data published on the FAO's FAOSTAT platform. Asia leads with 45 per cent of researchers and 48 per cent of total expenditure.

The number of agricultural researchers grew at an average annual rate of 2.3 per cent alongside the spending expansion. In Africa, researcher growth has been uneven: western Africa nearly doubled its researcher density from 6.9 to 13.2 per 100,000 agricultural workers between 2004 and 2023, and eastern Africa saw a similar rise from 5.1 to 13.2. By contrast, northern Africa saw researcher density fall sharply from 47.5 to 13.2 over the same period, and southern Africa declined from 27.1 to 20.7. A small group of countries — Brazil, China, India and the United States — accounts for a disproportionate share of global research capacity and expenditure.

Agricultural R&D is associated with lowering food prices, high economic returns and improving resource efficiency by enabling crops to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Agricultural R&D intensity, measured as expenditure relative to agricultural value added, varies dramatically — researcher numbers per 100,000 agricultural workers range from five to 1,692 globally. Countries averaging the highest investment intensity include Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, South Korea and Slovenia, most investing above 2 per cent of agricultural value in research, while many countries in Africa and Asia invest at much lower levels.

The data highlights that Central Asia recorded the fastest growth in both research capacity and spending, while Southern Africa and Southern Europe experienced declines. The FAO notes that agricultural science and technology indicators are increasingly vital for assessing research performance and guiding policy and investment decisions, particularly as climate change intensifies pressures on food systems. The persistent regional imbalances between Africa's research funding share and its share of the global agricultural workforce underscore the need for more balanced and sustained investment to enhance productivity, climate resilience and food security in the most vulnerable regions.

Key figure — $50.4 billion global agricultural R&D spending in 2023