What are the sources of public sector
agricultural research expenditures?
A. Public sector agricultural research is conducted at both
the Federal and State levels. In the past decade,
total expenditures on public sector agricultural research,
adjusted for inflation, increased modestly, from about
$4.5 billion in 1995 to $4.6 billion in 2005.
State-level institutions include the State Agricultural
Experiment Stations (SAES), land grant universities,
and other cooperating institutions (such as public and
private universities outside the land grant system).
Research expenditures at these institutions accounted
for most of the growth in public R&D. Between 1970
(when the data begin in USDA's Current
Research Information System) and 2005, expenditures
increased at about 2 percent annually (adjusted for inflation).
In comparison, the rate of increase for intramural research
expenditures at USDA was 0.2 percent annually. In 2005,
72 percent of all public agricultural R&D expenditures
were at State-level institutions. Expenditures at USDA
agencies accounted for the remaining 28 percent.
The sources of these research expenditures include
Federal institutions (USDA and other Federal agencies),
State appropriations, industry, and other miscellaneous
sources, such as private foundations and self-generated
funds. Internal sources account for almost all of USDA's
in-house research expenditures, but a small amount comes
from other sources, primarily other Federal agencies.
One example is a set of grants from the National Institute
of Health (NIH). Between 1998 and 2005, USDA received
13 grants, ranging from $150,000 to $290,000 each, that
were administered by NIH. These projects focused
on the impacts of vitamin A and carotenoids on the functioning
of healthy organs. This research aims to link USDA
research results to previous dietary intake studies that
have suggested a tentative association between diets
rich in beta-carotene and vitamin A and a lower risk
of several types of cancer.
State institutions, largely SAES and land grant universities,
receive funds from USDA. These are often referred
to as "extramural" (outside the department)
research programs. "Formula funds" were
one of the first means of administering research resources. These
block grants are distributed to SAES based on a State's
demographics (including rural population and population
living on farms) for use at the SAES' discretion. State
legislatures are required to match formula funds. In
2005, formula funds from USDA accounted for $221 million
of State-level expenditures. USDA's National
Research Initiative (NRI) awards research funds through
a competitive process that uses panels of scientists
to peer-review proposals and guide funding decisions. In
2005, NRI research grants made up 2 percent of total
public agricultural R&D expenditures at the State
and Federal levels ($89 million). Another 2 percent
of public expenditures came from special research
grants that are specifically designated (or earmarked)
by Congress.
 d
While
many people see USDA as the primary source of State-level
agricultural research expenditures, funds administered
by USDA only account for 20 percent of the total. From 1995 to 2005, funds from
several non-USDA sources grew in importance. Federal
agencies, such as the Departments of Defense, Energy,
and Health, provide an increasing percentage of State-level
expenditures. Funds from these other Federal agencies
are generally awarded competitively. The changes are
even larger over the long term; expenditures received
from other Federal agencies tripled between 1980 and
2005 in real terms, to $678 million for
2005. The share of expenditures arising from industry
sources, self-generated funds, and miscellaneous non-Federal
funds has also increased.
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