Research Reports

Private Sector Investment in Agricultural R and D in Australia

 

There is wide recognition that for Australian agriculture to remain internationally competitive and to be able to take advantage of emerging international opportunities, sustained productivity growth will be required. While the  agriculture sector has one of the best records of any sector of the Australian economy in achieving productivity gains over the past three decades, all the evidence available at present indicates that the productivity surge that commenced in the 1970s appears to be tapering off, and increased efforts will be required to restore previous productivity growth rates.
A key driver of agricultural productivity growth is agricultural research and development (R&D) investment, but trends over recent decades indicate that public agricultural R&D investment levels are declining in real terms. There has been some suggestion that the private sector will increase agricultural R&D investment and become more important as a driver of agricultural productivity, but surprisingly little is known about private sector agricultural R&D investment trends, especially in a country such as Australia which has a relatively small and somewhat unique agricultural sector.
The aim of the research reported here is to investigate these issues through desktop research and an industry survey. By talking directly to major private sector organisations about their involvement in agricultural R&D, their relationships with public-sector R&D providers, and their perceptions of likely future developments, decisions about future levels of public-sector investment in Australia can be much more soundly based.

Full report, pp 1-71, May 2011
 Australian Farm Institute
(Web) ISBN 978-1-921808-06-7
(Print) ISBN 978-1-921808-05-0 (Web)

$60.00