SoAR champions food and agricultural research.

SoAR Foundation Announces Dr. Barbara Schaal as New Board Chair

The Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Barbara Schaal as the new Chair of the Board of Directors. Dr. Schaal is a tenured professor of biology at Washington University in St. Louis who previously served as first vice president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences; president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; U.S. science envoy appointed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; and served as a member of President Obama’s Council for Science Technology.

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Leading Global Plant Scientists Press for More Resilient and Resource-Efficient Crop Systems to Combat Climate Change

The Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation released Developing Global Priorities for Plant Research: Adapting Agriculture to Climate Variability, today. With support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and in collaboration with Virginia Tech, this report is the outcome of an international workshop with notable plant scientists who developed and prioritized global plant research directions, strategies for cooperation and collaboration, and potential funders for the coming decade. The panel of global plant scientists concluded that strategies for developing crops for increased yield and yield stability under stress from external factors, including climate change, will need to include advanced knowledge of plant genetic diversity, climate variability and environmental impacts.  

Click here to read the full report.

New Report: “Retaking the Field: Innovation to Profit” explores how federally funded agricultural research strengthens farmers and ranchers’ bottomline by reducing costs and risks, increasing profits, and laying the groundwork for new products and industries. With powerful examples from universities across the country, it describes how research can generate outsized economic benefits that extends for decades. The report is in partnership FedByScience universities and the SoAR Foundation. Sponsors include the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. Explore the stories. 

SoAR Report Finds International Agricultural Research Investment Generates 10 to 1 Return

WASHINGTON, DC (October 14, 2020) – The Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation released The Payoff to Investing in CGIAR Research report,coauthored by Julian M. Alston, University of California, Davis; Philip G. Pardey, University of Minnesota; and Xudong Rao, North Dakota State University today. SoAR commissioned this work to examine the benefit-cost ratio of CGIAR investments. Formerly called the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, CGIAR is the world’s largest global agricultural research network. The report found that CGIAR investments of roughly $60 billion in present value terms has generated a benefit-cost ratio of 10 to 1 over the past five decades.

Click here to read the full report.