The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requested that the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources of the National Research Council (NRC) convene a panel of experts to examine whether publicly funded agricultural research has influenced the structure of U.S. agriculture and, if so, how. The Committee to Review the Role of Publicly Funded Agricultural Research on the Structure of U.S. Agriculture was asked to assess the role of public-sector agricultural research on changes in the size and numbers of farms, with particular emphasis on the evolution of very-large-scale operations.

This report provides a brief review of recent trends and key policies in strengthening national agricultural research systems. Chapters provide a brief overview of the recent evolution of national research systems and a synthesis of policy issues and good practices for developing these systems including the involvement of universities and the private sector. They also focus on key policy and institutional reforms for strengthening public research institutions including funding, research management, and client orientation. Finally they discuss implications for the World Bank in its ongoing efforts to strengthen national research systems.

A personal perspectives. Technical change and agricultural development. The agricultural research institution. National agricultural research systems. The international agricultural research system. Reviewing agricultural research programs. Location and scale in agricultural research. The private sector in agricultural research. Institutional and project funding of research. The economic benefits from agricultural research. Research resource allocation. The social sciences in agricultural research. Responsability and agricultural research.

The contributors to this volume, based on the Agriculture Research Seminars held annually at the University of Minnesota, examine the role of government, multinationals, and the emerging private sector (in both domestic and international contexts) in determining agricultural research policy.

Agricultural research and development have profoundly increased the quantity and quality of food production in the twentieth century. As populations increase, however, and land and water resources become more scarce, we must improve productivity and efficiency to provide adequate food supplies. Issues such as the environment, genetic diversity, food safety, poverty, human health, animal rights, public versus private responsibilities, and the question of intellectual property rights further complicate this task. Agricultural Science Policy: Changing Global Agendas consists of twelve chapters that describe important issues in agricultural science policy, the relevant facts, current economic thinking, and new results. Topics Include: Changing Global Contexts and Agendas for Agricultural R & D; Productivity Measures and Measurement; Research, Productivity, and Natural Resources; Research for Genetic Improvement; and a Conclusion, which suggests directions for the future. The chapters in this volume will provide researchers and policy makers with a timely review of progress on the existing agenda as well as laying the foundation for a new agenda and new directions for global agricultural science policy in the 21st century. Contributors: Julian M. Alston, University of California-Davis ? Walter J. Armbruster, President of the Farm Foundation ? Peter J. Barry, University of Illinois ? Wilfred Beckerman, University of Oxford ? Derek Byerlee, World Bank ? Barbara J. Craig, Oberlin College ? Robert Evenson, Yale University ? Richard Gray, University of Saskatchewan ? Zvi Griliches, Harvard University ? Paul W. Heisey, U.S. Department of Agriculture ? Frances Homans, University of Minnesota ? Peter Lindert, University of California-Davis ? Stavroula Malla, University of Saskatchewan ? Philip G. Pardey, International Food Policy Research Institute and University of Minnesota ? Prabhu L. Pingali, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center ? Ismail Serageldin, World Bank and the American University in Cairo ? Michael J. Taylor, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry, Australia ? Greg Traxler, Auburn University ? James Wilen, University of California-Davis ? Brian Wright, University of California-Berkeley. Published in cooperation with the International Food Policy Research Institute.