Innovation, Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability in the United States
The US food and agriculture sector is innovative, competitive and export-oriented. Changes in national and global demand offer further opportunities for US agri-food products, although climate change and other resource constraints could create additional challenges, in particular in some regions. Maintaining high productivity growth, while improving the sustainable use of resources will require further innovation. In a policy environment generally favourable to investment and innovation, the strong US agricultural innovation system is expected to continue to create innovations that will be widely adopted, to the extent that these can be widely accepted.
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Executive Summary
The US food and agriculture sector is well-positioned to meet the diverse and increasing demand for food, feed, fuel and fibre at the national and global levels. It is competitive and market-oriented, characterised by abundant arable and pasture land, strong and innovative farm and agri-food businesses, and a large domestic consumer market. In addition, high Total Factor Productivity (TFP), largely driven by farm consolidation and the continuous and widespread adoption of innovation, enables sustained agricultural production growth. This report examines the extent to which various policies affect innovation, structural change, and natural resource use, and thereby help maintain current productivity growth and improve resilience to risk, while addressing important sustainability challenges, such as those related to water management and climate change. It also identifies policy areas that would need to be improved.
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