Agricultural Research

I'm all for increased spending for medical research, however I don't think it should come at the expense of, or the ignoring of, agricultural research. Why should we continue to invest in agricultural research? According to the Research for Development (UK) website:

Agricultural research is a particularly good way to spend aid money. The Surr Report cites research showing that the cost of lifting one person out of poverty through agricultural research is US$180-190 per person compared with the US$2,304 per person for lifting one person out of poverty through aid spending in general. According to the World Development Report 2008, investment in agriculture research has "paid off handsomely," delivering an average rate of return of 43 percent in 700 development projects evaluated in developing countries.

Those are some pretty good returns. Nevermind that no amount of medical research is going to save a person from starving to death.