(2021-02-17) Carl E. Pray; Jock R. Anderson; Samuel Ledermann; Latha Nagarajan
This paper discusses the challenges brought by COVID-19 to the agricultural innovation system (AIS), a key subsystem that helps reduce food insecurity. The AIS is a complex system that includes agricultural research, extension, and education. The paper explores how national and international institutions can work together effectively to tackle the challenges during and after the pandemic and ensure the AIS's capacity to foster productivity in the future. The paper also provides an overview of the pre-COVID-19 agricultural R&D situation, reviews COVID-19 impacts, and discusses policy options for high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries. Failure to ensure the continuing high productivity of the AIS would have dire consequences for food and nutritional security in the coming decades, thus the need for quick adaptation