The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a new data domain on its FAOSTAT platform, revealing that publicly-oriented agricultural research and development (R&D) systems worldwide have exceeded $50 billion in investment.
According to data released on April 30, 2026, global public agricultural R&D expenditure reached $50.4 billion in 2023, growing at an average annual rate of 1.8 percent over the past two decades. The number of agricultural researchers has increased even faster, rising from 204,000 in 2004 to 316,000 in 2023, indicating expanding research capacity globally.
The figures show a marked acceleration in growth since 2009, following relatively sluggish expansion in the early 2000s. The new FAOSTAT domain builds on the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative, originally developed in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute, and is now being institutionalized within FAO with support from the Gates Foundation.
Regionally, Asia dominates the sector, accounting for 45 percent of agricultural researchers and 48 percent of global spending. Europe follows with 24 percent of researchers and 20 percent of expenditure, while the Americas contribute 14 percent of researchers and 22 percent of spending. Africa and Oceania account for smaller shares. Central Asia recorded the fastest growth, while Southern Africa and Southern Europe saw notable declines in researchers and expenditure, respectively.
FAO emphasized that agricultural R&D is critical for lowering food prices, improving productivity, reducing carbon footprints, and enhancing the resilience of crops to climate change. However, disparities remain significant. The number of researchers per 100,000 agricultural workers ranges widely from 5 to 1,692 across countries, reflecting uneven investment levels.
On average, countries spend about 1.3 percent of their agricultural value-added on research, with a median of 0.6 percent. Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, the Republic of Korea, and Slovenia are among the countries with the highest investment intensity.
FAO officials said the new data platform will strengthen evidence-based policymaking and help countries better track investments and research capacity to advance sustainable agrifood systems.