Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences expands its global reach with the GAP Report

The Global Agricultural Productivity Report (GAP Report) is a call to action to invest in proven strategies to produce food, feed, fiber, and biofuel in a sustainable manner to meet the needs of a growing world. The GAP Report has a global following of national and international policymakers, agribusinesses, U.N. agencies, universities, and nongovernmental organizations.

Created by the Global Harvest Initiative in 2010, the GAP Report will be produced for the first time in 2019 by Virginia Tech, a leading U.S. land-grant university based in Blacksburg, Virginia.
The Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) — which has long been a leader in empowering people around the world to produce sustainable food while increasing productivity — will become an even larger knowledge platform with the addition of the Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Report.
The report aligns with the mission of CALS Global, a unit within the college that was formed in 2016 with the goal of building partnerships, creating new opportunities, and empowering success while serving globally.
The tenth annual GAP Report will be presented on October 16, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa, at the World Food Prize.

For more information, contact Ann Steensland, GAP Report author/editor, and coordinator of the GAP Initiative, at anns@vt.edu.

Agriculture for a Healthy Sustainable World

Meeting the rising demand for nutritious, affordable food as well as materials for fuel, clothing, housing and consumer products requires innovative, productive and sustainable food and agriculture systems.

Multi-faceted, collaborative solutions involving consumers, producers, agribusinesses, transporters, processors, retailers and policymakers can transform our food and agriculture systems to achieve a healthy population and a healthy planet.

People

will be able to easily access a variety of nutritious safe food, including fruits, vegetables, protein and cereals, and consumer food waste will decline.

Aggregators & Traders

purchase agricultural products from farmers, ranchers, foresters and fishers and use efficient and renewable energy sources of transport.

Financial Services

help farmers and the agri-food system manage risk and withstand external shocks such as weather and market challenges.

Food Processors & Packagers

will incorporate nutritional concerns into the food they produce and use technology to reduce food loss and improve safety.

Retailers

of different types and scales offer a variety of nutritious, safe affordable food and provide science-based information about nutrition and food content.

Agricultural Service Providers

share advice and innovations that increase productivity and reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture.

Farmers, Ranchers, Foresters & Fishers

are successful agricultural producers and stewards of their natural resources, generating stable incomes and creating value for their families and communities.

Governments

and citizens establish agricultural policies and regulations to ensure human health and safety, protect the environment and animal welfare and foster economic growth.

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Policy Goals for a Productive, Sustainable Healthy World

The Global Harvest Initiative and its partners have identified five strategic policy goals that foster productive sustainable food and agriculture systems. The policies bring benefits to consumers, the environment and producers.

INVEST IN PUBLIC AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND EXTENSION

Research and development (R&D) and extension programs drive the productivity and sustainability of food and agriculture systems. The knowledge and innovations developed in the public sector are transformed into products and practices that improve crops, livestock, soil and water health, agricultural machinery and food processing.

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EMBRACE, CUSTOMIZE AND DISSEMINATE SCIENCE-BASED AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

Science-based and information technologies help producers manage the ever-present risks in agriculture while improving sustainability and competitiveness. They help prevent waste and ensure quality and safety throughout the value chain.

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ENHANCE PRIVATE-SECTOR INVOLVEMENT IN AGRICULTURE AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

Public-private partnerships stimulate investment in physical infrastructures, human capital and community resilience. Roads, water, rail and airport infrastructures open new markets, while financial systems and telecommunications networks connect producers and consumers to capital and knowledge.

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CULTIVATE PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND IMPROVED NUTRITION

Development assistance programs support the transformation to productive sustainable food and agriculture systems. Community participation in program design and collaboration with private-sector actors sets the stage for successful long-term development. Increasing food security, nutrition and incomes helps communities thrive.

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FOSTER CAPACITY FOR REGIONAL AND GLOBAL TRADE

Forward-looking trade agreements efficiently move products to markets that need them, benefiting producers and consumers. An enabling policy environment for regional and global trade includes transparent policies and consistently enforced laws and regulations, as well as coherent trade rules and standards across countries.

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INVEST IN PUBLIC AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND EXTENSION

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Supporting Partners

The GAP Report is made possible thanks to investments by the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and by contributions from our supporting partners, Bayer AG, Corteva Agriscience™, John Deere, The Mosaic Company, and Smithfield Foods.

Our work is enhanced by contributions from consultative partners who share their knowledge and experience in agriculture, conservation, nutrition and the needs of small-scale farmers: 9b Group, ACDI/VOCA, Congressional Hunger Center, Conservation International, Farm Foundation, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Inter-American Development Bank, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture, The Nature Conservancy, New Markets Lab, Purdue University School of Agriculture, Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska, and Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation.