National Academies Press: OpenBook

Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture (2000)

Chapter: Funds for Research on Transgenic Crops — The Balance Between Public and Private Sector

« Previous: Transgenic Plants and the Environment
Suggested Citation:"Funds for Research on Transgenic Crops — The Balance Between Public and Private Sector." National Academy of Sciences. 2000. Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9889.
×

FUNDS FOR RESEARCH ON TRANSGENIC CROPS - THE BALANCE BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR

The public sector and charitable foundations funded the national and international crop research in the post-war period that led to doubling or tripling crop yields in large parts of Asia and Latin America, along with gains in employment and nutrition in the developing world. The dwarf wheat and rice plants and other high-yielding varieties which were at the center of this “Green Revolution” met the needs of millions of poor farmers and consumers.

The balance of funding for this kind of research has shifted significantly during the past decade from the public to the private sector, and there has been a corresponding reduction in national, non-commercial agricultural research capacity that needs to be reversed. Substantial public-sector agricultural research still exists, however, notably in North America, Australia, Europe, China, India, Brazil, and in the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) system. The CGIAR system comprises 16 international research centers with interests that include wheat and maize (Mexico), rice (Philippines), potatoes (Peru), and millet and sorghum (India), but the financial support for the CGIAR has been declining in real terms. Whereas fundamental research is still being carried out in the public sector, the strategic application, in sharp contrast to the “Green Revolution,” takes place largely in the private sector where much of the intellectual property is controlled.

In these circumstances, research priorities are driven by market forces (e.g., price signals). Companies produce products

Suggested Citation:"Funds for Research on Transgenic Crops — The Balance Between Public and Private Sector." National Academy of Sciences. 2000. Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9889.
×

whose costs are recoverable in the marketplace. There are also goods that benefit society as a whole rather than individuals and whose costs cannot be recovered in the marketplace (so-called public goods). Public sector funding is needed for such public-good work (Stiglitz 1993). A classic example of a public good would be an improved plant that can be propagated by farmers with little deterioration, as with self-pollinated (e.g., wheat and rice), or vegetatively propagated (e.g., potatoes) crops. If such crop improvement research were left to normal markets for private provision, then it would be systematically under-supplied. This is a typical feature.

The main reason why aid donors and foundations support international agricultural research is to ensure that public-good research of relevance to small-scale farmers and to complex tropical and subtropical environments is undertaken. If such research were wholly private, even in a perfectly functioning market, the demands of rich consumers for innovation in their own interests would overwhelm the price signals from poor consumers and small-scale farmers.

Given the limited resources so far available to them for research, the non-commercial (public and charitable foundation) sectors have achieved more than could have been expected (e.g., beta-carotene-enhanced rice and rice resistant to the yellow mottle virus).

We recommend that: (i) governments should fully recognize that there will always be public interest/goods research requiring public investment even in the market-driven economy; it is imperative that public funding of research in this area is maintained at least at its present level in both CGIAR and national research institutions; (ii) governments, international organizations and aid agencies should acknowledge that plant genomics research is a legitimate and important object for public funding, and that the results of such research should be placed in the public domain;

Suggested Citation:"Funds for Research on Transgenic Crops — The Balance Between Public and Private Sector." National Academy of Sciences. 2000. Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9889.
×

(iii) innovative and vigorous forms of public-private collaboration are urgently required if the benefits of GM technologies are to be brought to all the world's people; (iv) incentives are needed to encourage commercial research companies to share with the public sector more of their capacity for innovation; and (v) care should be taken so that research is not inhibited by over-protective intellectual property regimes.

Suggested Citation:"Funds for Research on Transgenic Crops — The Balance Between Public and Private Sector." National Academy of Sciences. 2000. Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9889.
×
This page in the original is blank.
Suggested Citation:"Funds for Research on Transgenic Crops — The Balance Between Public and Private Sector." National Academy of Sciences. 2000. Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9889.
×
Page 23
Suggested Citation:"Funds for Research on Transgenic Crops — The Balance Between Public and Private Sector." National Academy of Sciences. 2000. Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9889.
×
Page 24
Suggested Citation:"Funds for Research on Transgenic Crops — The Balance Between Public and Private Sector." National Academy of Sciences. 2000. Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9889.
×
Page 25
Suggested Citation:"Funds for Research on Transgenic Crops — The Balance Between Public and Private Sector." National Academy of Sciences. 2000. Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9889.
×
Page 26
Next: Capacity Building »
Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture Get This Book
×
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!

This report concludes that steps must be taken to meet the urgent need for sustainable practices in world agriculture if the demands of an expanding world population are to be met without destroying the environment or natural resource base. In particular, GM technology, coupled with important developments in other areas, should be used to increase the production of main food staples, improve the efficiency of production, reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, and provide access to food for small-scale farmers. However, concerted, organized efforts must be undertaken to investigate the potential health and environmental effects—both positive and negative—of GM technologies in their specific applications. These must be assessed against the background of effects from conventional agricultural technologies that are currently in use.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!