The Global Agricultural Productivity Report says the world’s agricultural productivity is consistently falling short of the target growth rate. Since 2011, productivity isn’t growing fast enough to hit the target growth rate required to sustainably meet global needs for agricultural outputs by 2050.
The report says total factor productivity growth continues to be strong in China and South Asia. However, Sub-Saharan Africa and the U.S. show especially low TFP growth. From 2011-2021, global TFP grew at an average rate of 1.14 percent yearly. To sustainably meet the agricultural needs of a growing global population by 2050, the GAP report says the world must now aim for 1.91 percent average annual TFP growth. If producers are able to access proven, appropriate, productivity-enhancing tools, there can be significant improvements in closing the TFP growth gap.
Lack of growth may result in over-reliance on unsustainable production practices and continued decline in TFP growth.