Research Shows Productivity Key to Lower Farm Emissions
A new study suggests that increasing farm productivity and lowering agricultural greenhouse gas emissions are not mutually exclusive goals. Researchers found that gains in efficiency have played a major role in slowing emissions growth, even as global agricultural production has expanded significantly over the past several decades.
The research, led by scientists from Cornell University and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, examined global agricultural data spanning from 1961 to 2021. Their analysis showed that productivity—defined as producing more output with the same or fewer inputs—has been the most important factor in limiting emissions increases.
“There are environmental goals that you can achieve while increasing productivity,” said first author Ariel Ortiz-Bobea, associate professor in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell’s S.C. Johnson College of Business.
“We have to take a harder look at the cheapest, most efficient way of achieving those goals – and what we’ve seen in the past is that increases in productivity have also been the driving force for keeping emissions in check.”
Since 1961, global agricultural productivity has climbed by 270%, while emissions have grown by only 45%. Despite this progress, agriculture and land use together still generate about one-fifth of total human-caused greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
Ortiz-Bobea also pointed out that productivity growth in the United States has slowed, largely due to flat research and development funding over the last four decades. He emphasized that future policies must support both increased production and emission reductions.
To conduct the study, researchers combined USDA data on agricultural inputs and outputs with emissions data from the Food and Agriculture Organization. They evaluated emissions and production relative to input use, finding that land-focused technological improvements—such as improved seeds and fertilizer efficiency—had a greater impact on reducing emissions than labor-related changes.
“It appears that the direction in which the technology has been changing, at least globally, might actually help decarbonize,” Ortiz-Bobea said.
“But we need another model to really get to the bottom of the trade-offs and to identify an ideal direction for technological change. We don’t know exactly, but we wanted to put our finger on the different directions policies can push.”
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