In fiscal year 1992 (the most recent year for which private sector data were available), agricultural research expenditures totaled about $6.3 billion. Finally, private companies and commodity groups provide funding to land grant universities and, to a lesser extent, to USDA to conduct research. USDA’s Involvement in the Research, Education, and Extension System

USDA is involved in the research, education, and extension system primarily through ARS and the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES). Funding for the Research Component

In fiscal year 1992, the federal government funded about 25 percent of all agricultural research, state governments about 15 percent, and the private sector about 60 percent. Federal agricultural research funds supported USDA’s in-house research and research conducted at land grant and other institutions. Funding for Extension and Education Activities

Overall, federal, state, and county governments provided almost $1.4 billion in fiscal year 1994 for extension activities. Specifically, we agreed to (1) provide an overview of the system; (2) obtain the views of various users of agricultural research on the extent to which USDA and the land grant universities are meeting their research needs and on how effectively research results are being disseminated; and (3) assess USDA’s processes for planning and establishing research priorities. 2.5.) In connection with these programs, we found that the following problems hamper the effectiveness and efficiency of USDA’s processes for identifying research priorities, allocating resources among those priorities, and achieving accountability for research expenditures:
USDA lacks a Department-wide research agenda to guide priority setting. Although CRIS is the only national database with information on publicly funded agricultural research, it has significant limitations, according to USDA and university officials. Congressional committees’ directives have also affected ARS’ ability to reallocate resources. It is too soon, however, to evaluate the effectiveness of these steps.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided an overview of the U.S. agricultural research, education, and extension system, focusing on: (1) how well certain agricultural research users believe the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and land grant universities are meeting users' research needs and disseminating their research results; and (2) USDA approaches to setting research priorities.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) the U.S. agricultural research, education, and extension system is diverse and decentralized and has both governmental and private components; (2) USDA is a key player in that it conducts in-house research and funds in partnership with states activities at 74 land-grant universities and other institutions; (3) the private sector also conducts and funds research, usually for proprietary purposes; (4) in fiscal year (FY) 1992, agricultural research expenditures totaled about $6.3 billion with the private sector contributing 60 percent, the federal government 25 percent, and states 15 percent; (5) in FY 1994, the federal government spent $419 million on extension activities while states and counties spent almost $1 billion; (6) most agricultural research users believe that USDA and land grant universities' research and information dissemination is effective in meeting their needs, but many also believe that the research's level of public funding and dissemination are inadequate; (7) users, USDA, and universities have formed partnerships and collaborative efforts to stretch limited research resources; (8) USDA lacks a departmentwide research agenda, adequate priority-setting and accountability processes, adequate information systems, and the ability to shift resources among priorities to plan and implement research priorities; and (9) USDA is developing actions to address these problems, but it is too soon to determine their effectiveness.