This report assesses trends in investments, human resource capacity, and research outputs in agricultural R&D—excluding the private (for-profit) sector—in LAC. It is an update of Stads and Beintema (2009), covering a more complete set of countries and focusing primarily on developments during 2006–2012/2013.1 The analysis draws largely from a set of country factsheets prepared by Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI), which is led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), using comprehensive datasets derived from primary surveys and additional secondary sources targeting close to 700 agencies in 27 LAC countries.

In 2020, PIM findings contributed to seed policies in Nepal and Uganda, Malawi’s extension strategy and approval of insect-resistant cotton, a nationwide program aimed at improving the effectiveness of public service delivery in Uganda, social protection programs in Egypt, and school gardens for better nutrition in Papua New Guinea. At the global level, PIM research was used to shape strategic decisions of organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GIZ, the Inter-American Development Bank, the UK Government's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the World Bank and the World Health Organization. PIM tools were incorporated in universities’ curricula in India and South Africa. Examples of PIM innovations scaled up by partners in 2020 are private sector seed marketing in Ethiopia, picture-based insurance in Ethiopia, India and Kenya, and tools for inclusive governance of natural resources in India and Peru.