The Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Initiative at Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech took over the responsibility for producing the Global Agricultural Productivity Report® (GAP Report®) in 2019. It was created by the Global Harvest Initiative (GHI), a non-profit founded in 2010 to look at what production agriculture would have to achieve to keep pace with a growing global population.
Former GHI deputy director, Ann Steensland, leads the GAP Initiative and is the author and editor of the GAP Report, based at the Virginia Tech main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia.
“The Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) is well positioned to serve as a host for the report given the breadth of its programs in food, agriculture, and nutrition and its emphasis on addressing global food security issues,” said Tim Sands, president of Virginia Tech. “The college’s initiative to grow public-private partnerships, its investment in international programs, and the new Innovation Campus in Alexandria, Virginia, all benefit the GAP Report and its stakeholders.”
The GAP Report benefits from the research and relationships of CALS — as well other research initiatives and institutes across the university, including the USAID Integrated Pest Management Innovation Lab and the Center for Agricultural Trade.
The report aligns with the mission of Virginia Tech’s CALS Global Programs Office (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 GAP Report is produced by CALS Global under the leadership of Tom Thompson, the college’s associate dean and director of global programs.
