175 



Jun* 14, 1993 



Agricultural Research and Education 



Priorities and Technology Transfers: 



Suggestions for Congress 



By Wallace E. Hviffman* 



As requested by the Committee, my primary objective will be to address 

 the role of priority setting at USDA research agencies, ARS and CSRS , and 

 criteria for placement of agricultural research facilities. This will be 

 undertaken in the following sections of my report. The initial sections will, 

 however, provide some background for my later recommendations. 



A Brief Historical Description of the U.S. 

 Agricultural Research and Extension System 



Research and development, leading to advances in science and technology, 

 have been and continue to be important public and private sector activities in 

 the United States. This is in contrast to the situation in the developing 

 countries of the world and Eastern Europe where these activities are almost 

 totally conducted in the public sector. 



Robert Evenson and I (Huffman and Evenson 1993, p. 96) estimate that 

 public agricultural research expenditures were larger than private R&D expen- 

 ditures during 1905-1950, but private agricultural R&D expenditures pushed 



'''Professor of Economic and Agricultural Economics, Iowa State University, 

 Ames, lA. Also, a member of Executive Committee and member of NC208, Impact 

 Analysis and Decision Strategies for Agricultural Research. I have benefitted 

 from comments of Robert Evenson, Vernon Ruttan, and Peter Orazem. 



Testimony prepared for the House Agrlcultture Subconaittee on Department 

 Operations and Nutrition. The Honorable Charles V. Stenholm, Chairman. 



