September 24, 2025
The Dashboard for Agricultural Water and Nutrient Management (DAWN) is a free, web-based decision-support tool developed to help Corn Belt producers optimize water and nutrient inputs for efficiency gains.
September 24, 2025
Across sub-Saharan Africa, agricultural productivity growth remains constrained by systemic gender inequality and poor nutrition – factors that, when overlooked, deepen existing disparities and further limit growth.
September 24, 2025
Syngenta's new molecular techniques significantly accelerate the development of crop protection products.
September 24, 2025
Small and marginal farmers in rural India cultivate the land that feeds a nation, yet their own futures remain uncertain.
September 24, 2025
SUMMARY: In Uganda’s Kitagwenda District, the Kyendagara Area Cooperative Enterprise (KACE) has transformed from a subsistence group into a thriving commercial hub with support…
September 24, 2025
SUMMARY: The “One Health” approach emphasizes the link between animal, human, and environmental health. At…
September 24, 2025
SUMMARY: Policy alignment is essential to accelerating sustainable agricultural productivity growth. Through strategic coalitions, NASDA-a nonpartisan, nonprofit association representing the elected and non-elected…
September 24, 2025
SUMMARY: The Mosaic Company is advancing global agricultural productivity through a farmer-focused approach that integrates 4R Nutrient Stewardship with cutting-edge crop nutrition and bioscience…
September 24, 2025
SUMMARY: John Deere’s Precision Upgrades strategy supports agricultural productivity by broadening access to technologies that enhance efficiency, productivity, and integration. These upgrades range from…
September 24, 2025
SUMMARY: The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) is harnessing advancements in science, technology, and innovation and the convergence of technological disciplines to…
September 23, 2025
SUMMARY: In Uganda’s Nyabyumba village, Sarah Tushabomwe and Denis Mwegisire transformed their struggling farm through the BRIGHT program, led by IFDC with support from…
September 23, 2025
SUMMARY: In Morocco’s semi-arid regions, increasing drought and erratic rainfall threaten cereal production and farmer livelihoods. To improve resilience, ICARDA introduced a relay intercropping…
September 23, 2025
SUMMARY: Since 2021, Heifer International has implemented Milpa for Life, a six-year initiative to strengthen the Mayan milpa system in Yucatán and Campeche, Mexico.
September 23, 2025
SUMMARY: In Nigeria, the journey from crop variety release to commercialization typically takes at least three to four years to build seed systems. This…
September 23, 2025
SUMMARY: Teff is a vital crop in Ethiopia, providing up to two-thirds of the country’s protein and dietary fiber. Though central to Ethiopian identity,…
September 23, 2025
SUMMARY: Wheat is the world’s most widely grown crop, cultivated on over 215 million hectares and providing 20% of global protein and caloric…
September 23, 2025
Summary: A breakthrough method known as apical rooted cuttings (ARC) is transforming the speed and efficiency of delivering improved potato varieties to farmers in India…
September 23, 2025
SUMMARY: CAST’s 2025 paper, AI in Agriculture: Opportunities, Challenges, and Recommendations, explores how AI is revolutionizing agriculture through technologies that integrate…
September 23, 2025
SUMMARY: In many fields, “seeing is believing”. Agriculture is no exception. Model farms can showcase the potential that lies in sustainable intensification and system…
September 23, 2025
Summary: AATF demonstrates how African agriculture can transition from land expansion to sustainable intensification. TELA®…
August 21, 2025
India is home to one-quarter of all smallholder farmers in the world. Despite the small size of their farms, Indian smallholders grow around…
July 11, 2025
New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that agriculture’s impact on water-energy balance varies dramatically across…
July 11, 2025
The escalating debate over glyphosate regulation under the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement presents a critical juncture for U.S. agricultural productivity…
July 11, 2025
The European Union’s restrictive stance on new genomic techniques (NGTs) threatens to forfeit up to €335 billion annually in potential productivity gains,…
July 11, 2025
Digital transformation holds promise for accelerating agricultural productivity growth across Sub-Saharan Africa, yet new research reveals that technology adoption without complementary investments yields…
July 11, 2025
The African Conference on Agricultural Technologies (ACAT) 2025 in Kigali, Rwanda, brought together over 700 participants from 35 countries to accelerate agricultural…
July 10, 2025
HarvestPlus’s 2024 achievements reveal biofortification’s emerging role as a catalyst for agricultural productivity growth that addresses both the global 2% TFP target…
June 4, 2025
Canada—a nation whose prosperity is built on agricultural foundations—will host the 2025 G7 Summit from June 15…
May 30, 2025
The Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center (AREC) has launched “CabCast,” a new weekly podcast series that represents an innovative approach to agricultural…
May 30, 2025
A new study in Research on World Agricultural Economy, examining Jordan’s agricultural sector from 1990 to 2023, reveals a troubling disconnect between…
May 30, 2025
Research conducted in Kenya by researchers from IFPRI, Tegemeo Institute, and the University of Greenwich, demonstrates how tailored extension approaches can accelerate the adoption…
May 30, 2025
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Syngenta Group CEO Jeff Rowe presented a compelling vision for how artificial intelligence will fundamentally…
May 30, 2025
The global imperative to achieve sustainable agricultural productivity growth requires that every farmer—regardless of scale—has access to proven tools and technologies. At Virginia Tech’s…
May 30, 2025
Nepal’s Terai region embodies both the promise and challenges facing agricultural productivity growth in South Asia. This fertile lowland area, responsible for…
May 4, 2025
The Mosaic Company, a GAP Initiative Supporting Partner, has strategically repositioned its philanthropic arm as “The Mosaic Company Foundation for Sustainable Food Systems,”…
May 4, 2025
Virginia Tech’s Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Initiative, with support from the OECD Cooperative Research Programme, convened on 17 and 18 April 2025, in…
May 4, 2025
Agriculture faces mounting pressure to increase productivity while confronting climate change impacts. A recent review by Konfo et al., “Recent climate-smart innovations in…
May 4, 2025
A recent meta-analysis by Lee, Orton, and Lu (2023) published in the journal Climate reveals important insights into why farmers may hesitate to…
May 4, 2025
A recent technology assessment on precision agriculture by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) offers valuable insights into how these technologies…
May 4, 2025
A recent report released by the Australian Bureau for Agriculture Research and Resource Economics and Sciences reveals that agriculture plays a major role in…
May 1, 2025
Source: Bayer Crop Science Bayer has made a significant investment in agricultural inputs in Zambia, where its new maize seed production facility signals…
March 27, 2025
Enhancing agricultural productivity growth requires innovative approaches to combat crop diseases that threaten farmer livelihoods and food security. A promising research initiative at…
March 27, 2025
Achieving sustainable agricultural productivity growth requires innovative approaches to technology deployment that consider regional variations and specific farm contexts. Recent research out of…
March 27, 2025
A recent McKinsey survey of 4,400 farmers across nine countries in Europe, North America, Latin America, and India reveals that improving productivity…
March 27, 2025
In 2011, Ethiopia introduced the Direct Seed Marketing (DSM) initiative to address inefficient seed distribution, low adoption of improved varieties, and stagnant productivity. DSM…
March 27, 2025
Graduate student of the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, C. Brandt Tate, is leveraging algorithms and data analytics to…
March 27, 2025
A recent USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) chart illuminates the striking geographic variation in agricultural productivity growth across the United States from 1960 to…
March 26, 2025
The 2024 GAP Report emphasized the critical need to bridge the “Valley of Death” between agricultural innovation and widespread adoption. In an…
March 26, 2025
A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) by Ortiz-Bobea et al. (2025) examines the relationship between…
February 20, 2025
A 2025 report by Barry K. Goodwin and Vincent H. Smith at the American Enterprise Institute provides important evidence of the substantial…
February 20, 2025
Research out of Purdue University, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), offers valuable historical perspective on the environmental returns from…
February 20, 2025
The 2024 Global Agricultural Productivity Report highlighted a critical challenge: global agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) growth has fallen to just 0.7…
February 20, 2025
A new systematic literature review published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications provides a comprehensive analysis of employment challenges in the agrifood sectors of…
February 19, 2025
World hunger remains a consistent global challenge due to varying agricultural yields, unequal access to nutritious foods, and distributional challenges. The UN Food and…
December 20, 2024
The GAP Initiative™ desires that every farmer has access to every proven, appropriate tool for creating agricultural productivity growth to sustainably meet our agricultural…
November 19, 2024
What is summer stockpiling? Summer stockpiling is a grazing management practice that significantly enhances total factor productivity (TFP) growth and promotes conservation in agricultural…
November 19, 2024
Advancements in soil health practices have shown significant promise in boosting agricultural productivity and sustainability,…
October 29, 2024
October 29, 2024
October 29, 2024
October 25, 2024
The 2024 GAP Report launch event underscored the critical role of bundling tools—integrating technologies such as improved seeds, soil health management, digital advisory services,…
October 25, 2024
Accelerating the Private Sector for Food Systems Transformation in Africa The 2024 Africa Agriculture Status Report (AASR) focuses on accelerating agricultural productivity by harnessing…
August 26, 2024
USAID Chief Scientist for the Bureau of Resilience and Food Security, Robert Bertram, joined the GAP Initiative at the 2023 World Food Prize Borlaug…
August 26, 2024
Alejandra Castro, Global Head of Partnerships- International Organizations at Bayer, discusses the challenges and solutions related to providing farmers worldwide with the necessary tools…
August 26, 2024
Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences received an $80 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture in 2023 to pilot…
August 23, 2024
Dr. Tebila Nakelse is a distinguished agricultural economist with extensive experience in agricultural productivity and policy. He currently serves as the Research Lead for…
August 29, 2023
Sustainable productivity growth is recognized as a tool for creating resilient food systems that create returns for producers, society, the environment, and the economy.
October 3, 2022
The 2021 COP26 Summit (Climate Change Conference of the Parties) aimed to bring the world to the negotiating table to define a roadmap for…
October 3, 2022
Agriculture and food production are of the utmost importance to peace and prosperity. Throughout history, the rise and fall of civilizations has been greatly…
September 30, 2022
Background The food price spike of 2005-2008 sparked civil unrest in dozens of countries, including across the Middle East, where the Arab Spring soon…
September 30, 2022
While the Russia-Ukraine war has had repercussions across the globe, it has been especially problematic for bakeries and households in Africa, a region that…
September 30, 2022
Potatoes and sweet potatoes have played important roles in nourishing burgeoning populations in Africa and Asia, and their attributes ensure their contribution to food…
September 30, 2022
The global pest Fall Armyworm has been on an unwarranted global tour making its way from North America to the African continent. By 2018…
September 30, 2022
Rice is one of the most important staple grains consumed around the world, feeding more than half the world’s population. Profitable rice cultures today…
September 28, 2022
The Mosaic Company has taken the spirit of collaboration to heart when it comes to creating new soil fertility products and resources that improve…
September 28, 2022
Environmental stewardship is one of the core focus areas of the Smithfield sustainability strategy, seeking bold and innovative ways to do good for the…
September 28, 2022
Smithfield Foods is continually researching methods to produce high-quality, high-protein products that improve agricultural productivity, require fewer resources and have a smaller…
September 28, 2022
Climate change and unpredictable seasonality can make it difficult for farmers to make important business decisions on crop management. For example, one…
September 28, 2022
Can digital services for agriculture contribute to resilient TFP growth in sub-Saharan Africa? By Jessica Agnew, Harrison Byrnes, Okeyo Mwai…
September 28, 2022
By Jessica Agnew, Ph.D., Associate Director, CALS Global, Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences TFP Growth in East Africa reached its peak…
May 25, 2022
East African agriculture faces compounding crises of COVID-19, conflict, and climate. This June, join us for a data-driven, solutions-oriented virtual event with actionable insights…
April 26, 2022
The GAP Initiative creates opportunities for Virginia Tech students to engage in the global agricultural and food security communities through our internship program. In…
October 20, 2021
A recent report from the Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation has found that investments in the CGIAR system yield…
October 19, 2021
Traditional rice farming techniques in India are becoming environmentally unsustainable. Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) is an alternative resource-efficient technology that minimizes the…
October 19, 2021
The Mosaic Company is working to equip farmers with the tools to harness the fertility power of soil health. Through new products like…
October 19, 2021
Deere & Company is not only working to improve productivity on the farm but also in the factory by bringing connectivity to rural America.
October 19, 2021
A coalition of researchers and scientists at Bayer Crop Science are working together to protect the world’s most popular banana variety from the…
October 19, 2021
By 2050, the world’s population is expected to double and the demand for protein is expected to dramatically increase. Sustainable food production is critical…
October 18, 2021
A four-wheeled robot roams the diverse terrain of a cow pasture as a drone flies overhead the herd, providing almost real-time modeling…
October 18, 2021
A CALL TO ACTION: By Ana Bilik, President, Tanager The Sustainable Development Goals have become a common set of metrics behind a movement, “a…
October 18, 2021
Smithfield Foods works to introduce holistic regenerative agriculture solutions throughout its grain supply chain via its…
October 18, 2021
Most people don’t think much about soils, but soils are important in many ways. Soils provide many ecosystem services including water storage and run-off…
October 18, 2021
Over application of fertilizer increases the potential for nutrient losses, including runoff, volatile ammonia emissions, and denitrification while also reducing profitability for the farmer.
October 18, 2021
Since the first tubers were taken from South America to Europe in the 16th century, the potato has spread across the globe…
October 15, 2021
Food production systems across the globe have detrimental shortcomings: in the worst cases, systems can actively lead to the degradation of the…
October 15, 2021
In recent decades, family farming (FF) has demonstrated that, with support from wellcoordinated policies on productive inclusion, it has the capacity to generate employment…
October 15, 2021
By Rick McNary, co-founder of Shop Kansas Farms and vice president of strategic partnership at The Outreach Program In the early months of the…
October 15, 2021
Food Enterprise Solutions (FES) is bringing more attention to the role of business in the food supply chain with its Business Drivers for Food…
October 15, 2021
Women provide over 40 percent of agricultural labor in the world but only have ownership of 12 percent of agricultural land.
October 15, 2021
Farmer-led irrigation is not a new concept. For decades, governments and NGOs alike have focused on engaging farmers in the implementation of…
October 15, 2021
With the global population expected to reach nearly 10 billion people in 2050, the GAP Report estimates that agricultural output will need to double…
October 15, 2021
Ensuring we can feed the world’s growing population in the years to come requires collaboration. Key to that is public-private-producer partnerships, which…
October 15, 2021
Agriculture is the second-largest contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions around the world, accounting for one-fourth of carbon emissions. Along with GHG emissions,…
October 15, 2021
By: Roger Thurow Scholar-in-Residence at Auburn University Senior Fellow, Center on Global Food and Agriculture, Chicago Council on Global Affairs A narrow…
October 15, 2021
By: Ruben G. Echeverria Sr. Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Director General Emeritus, International Center for Tropical…
October 10, 2021
By Wei Zhang, Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, GAP Initiative Faculty Research Fellow, with Jean Paul Chavas, University of Wisconsin-Madison Climate…
October 15, 2021
By Rattan Lal 2020 World Food Prize Laureate CFAES Rattan Lal Carbon Management and Sequestration Center The Ohio State University…
October 20, 2021
Published by VT News, October 20, 2021 Today, the 2021 Global Agricultural Productivity Report (GAP Report), “Strengthening the Climate for Sustainable Agricultural…
October 20, 2021
Published by Agri-Pulse, October 20, 2021 Excerpt: “The report’s release comes as the Biden administration is organizing a coalition of countries to promote…
October 8, 2021
Published by VT News, October 2021 In a virtual event, the 2021 Global Agricultural Productivity Report, “Strengthening the Climate for Agricultural Growth,” will…
September 15, 2021
In preparation for the UN Food Systems Summit, the Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative will host an event to make the case for productivity growth as a key strategy.
July 6, 2021
VIDEO BLOG: Improved crop nutrient and water management practices lead to increased productivity and profits.
June 28, 2021
VIDEO BLOG: A program implemented by Tanager, an international development organization, is transforming the poultry sector in Burkina Faso.
October 22, 2021
Summary of coverage of The Case for Productivity publication and launch.
June 15, 2021
Summary of coverage of The Case for Productivity publication and launch.
June 15, 2021
In anticipation of the UN Food Systems summit, a publication released today argues that accelerating agricultural productivity growth, especially for small-scale producers, is imperative to the future of agriculture.
June 10, 2021
CALS’s Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative makes the case for efficiency at an upcoming event Published by VT News, June 9,…
May 27, 2021
In preparation for the UN Food Systems Summit, the Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative will host an event to make the case for productivity growth as a key strategy.
May 11, 2021
Virginia State University’s M. Ray McKinnie shares his thoughts on the goals of the 1890 land-grant university extension system, the impact of COVID-19 on the work of Virginia Cooperative Extension, and the perspective of African-American farmers.
April 28, 2021
Largely due to technological and data-informed advances, agricultural productivity is growing globally at an average annual rate of 1.63%, according to a Virginia Tech report.
April 23, 2021
Virginia Tech CALS Global funds research on the impact of extreme weather events on productivity growth. Results will be published in 2022 GAP Report.
April 13, 2021
Agricultural productivity is not just essential for sustainably meeting the demands of a growing world. The technologies and practices that enable producers to produce more output with the same amount, or less inputs, can also be harnessed to cultivate resilience.
April 7, 2021
GAP Initiative partners HarvestPlus, Purdue Center for Global Food Security, and Virginia Tech share stories of their efforts to strengthen the health of communities at risk from malnutrition and foodborne illnesses.
April 1, 2021
Despite supply chain restrictions and the economic downturn created by efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. exported $135.72 billion (US) of American agricultural products in 2020, a slight increase from 2019. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsak provided insights on the trade landscape for Virginia and U.S. producers at the Virginia Governor’s Conference on Agricultural Trade.
March 19, 2021
Every drop of water counts when trying to close the agricultural productivity gap. Women play a vital role in water management for agriculture and community health.
March 2, 2021
Hellen Waweru, a Kenyan smallholder farmer, shares her farming practices, challenges, and hopes for the future in this documentary short.
February 24, 2021
Sasakawa Africa Association shares their approach to strengthening the resilience of food systems in Africa through innovative approaches using information and communication technologies. By…
February 18, 2021
By Abigail R. Stevenson, with foreword by GAP Report team — The World Health Organization estimates 1 in 10 people globally…
February 9, 2021
By Ozzie Abaye, Professor, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, and Ann Steensland, Lead, Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative, Virginia Tech…
January 28, 2021
Fruits and vegetables are essential for human nutrition. But they’re also beneficial to the food system: the fruit and vegetable sector can…
