Fruits and vegetables are foundational to high-quality diets, climate-smart agriculture, and diversified rural livelihoods. Yet until recently, there has been remarkably little clarity on how much is actually being invested in fruit and vegetable research and development (R&D), and whether those investments align with nutrition, equity, and sustainability goals.
To address this gap, Responsible Innovations published The State of Investments in Fruits & Vegetables: A Global Report, the first effort to estimate horticulture R&D investments globally. Drawing on insights from 179 experts in nine countries spanning government, academia, NGOs, and the private sector, the analysis offers a rare window into how horticulture fits within broader agricultural investment portfolios.
Across countries and sectors, the experts estimated that only ~11% of agricultural crop-related R&D funding is directed toward locally-consumed fruits and vegetables, while the majority of investments continue to flow toward a small number of staple crops. This imbalance persists despite global dietary guidelines. Over 90% of national food-based dietary guidelines call for diets rich in fruits and vegetables, and despite strong evidence linking higher fruit and vegetable consumption to improved health outcomes.
Experts identified a set of interrelated structural barriers that explain why this gap persists. Policy and funding priorities often favor staple crops due to their perceived role in caloric security and political/economic considerations. Fruit and vegetable value chains are more fragmented and risk-prone, with high postharvest losses, limited cold storage, and weaker aggregation and distribution systems. Seed systems and research infrastructure for horticultural crops remain underdeveloped in many contexts, constraining productivity gains. Across regions, gender-based barriers – particularly women’s limited access to land, inputs, finance, and markets – further suppress the performance of fruit and vegetable systems.
Rather than pointing to a single solution, the report highlights five priority investment areas where coordinated, evidence-based action could unlock disproportionate impact: reducing postharvest losses and strengthening value chains; expanding extension and capacity-building, including digital tools; strengthening seed systems and research infrastructure; elevating nutrition and consumer demand; and enabling women’s market access through policy and institutional reforms.
What emerged most clearly is that underinvestment in fruits and vegetables is a systems challenge. Addressing it requires moving beyond siloed interventions toward responsible scaling pathways that balance productivity, profitability, nutrition outcomes, gender equity, and environmental sustainability. With better data, clearer definitions, and more deliberate prioritization, horticulture investments can shift from being peripheral to becoming a cornerstone of food system transformation.