Bridging the ‘Valley of Death’ to achieve agricultural productivity goals by 2050

The "valley of death" — the chasm between developing innovative agricultural solutions and getting them into the hands of producers — poses a significant threat to achieving global agricultural productivity growth goals by 2050 to meet the growing demand for agricultural products. 

The 2024 Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Report underscores the urgency of bridging the valley of death by rethinking how we bundle productivity tools – like technologies, seeds, or improved practices – with distribution mechanisms, socio-economic tools, and policy levers. 

The Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative at Virginia Tech (GAP Initiative) will announce the launch of the 2024 Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Report, titled "Powering Productivity: Scaling High-Impact Bundles of Proven & Emerging Tools," on Thursday, Oct. 3, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and online. Registration and a schedule for the event are available.

The 2024 GAP Report highlights troubling findings of continually slowing agricultural productivity growth. When agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) growth slows, economic competitiveness in the agricultural sector is impacted by deterring investment and stifling innovation and growth. It also negatively impacts the farmer’s profitability and income, especially among small-scale producers in sub-Saharan Africa and other world regions. Moreover, reduced productivity growth hampers the agricultural sector’s ability to adapt to climate change impacts, compromising global food supply stability. 

The launch of the 2024 GAP Report will bring together farmers, policy makers, private sector, and non-governmental organizations to discuss the report’s findings and explore innovative solutions to accelerate agricultural productivity growth. The event will feature two panel discussions: a multisectoral panel on successful bundling approaches and an all-farmer panel providing firsthand insights from the field. 

Featured speakers at the event include Robert Bertram, chief scientist for USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, and Alejandra Castro, vice president for international affairs and sustainability strategy at Bayer Crop Science. The keynote address will be delivered by Simeon Ehui, director general of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture. Their insights and expertise will provide valuable perspectives on the challenges and opportunities in driving sustainable productivity growth. 

The 2024 GAP Report will detail the importance of tackling the agricultural productivity growth slowdown and provide a roadmap for unlocking the full potential of TFP growth for the benefit of farmers, society, the environment, and the global economy. By strategically bundling productivity tools with socio-economic, policy, and distribution mechanisms, we can power productivity growth and create bridges across the "valley of death" tailored to local contexts and cultures.