This is Tom Nickson again from Monsanto providing some thoughts based on Dominic Glover's Message 71.
I think there is every reason to be optimistic as long as we can address the challenges, which again, are not scientific. Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA, links provided below) is a very good example of a public-private partnership aimed at developing products that are suitable for growing conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Through conventional and molecular breeding programs and the combination of germplasm from the public and private sectors, we anticipate that WEMA will create new more drought tolerant hybrids, developed for SSA countries. Transgenic traits for additional drought tolerance and insect protection will also be evaluated in these hybrids and in this geography and developed and deployed to farmers, if they are well suited.
In direct response to Dominic's questions, the transgenic traits being explored and utilized in WEMA were developed for the US market originally. However, we believe that these traits have potential for providing benefit and value to African farmers and will evaluate the performance of those traits in Africa.
I think there may be hope for the development of biotech traits for specific geographies by the private sector if government policies provide an enabling environment such that companies have some realistic expectation that investments will someday be rewarded in the form of a profitable business. For example, predictable, efficient and appropriately protective biosafety frameworks would allow a developer (public or private) to test, and potentially develop a product. Harmonization of such a system at a regional level would be beneficial for a region and reduce costs compared to having to work on a country-by-country basis. Many developing countries highlight their lack of capacity in international negotiations. As such, pooling resources and sharing experiences and expertise (which the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Cartagena Protocol encourage) would help enable technology uptake and environmental protection. Another example would be the establishment and enforcement of an effective system or intellectual property (IP) rights protection and enforcement that enabled innovation by protecting a company's R&D investment.
Even with the enabling environments, the fact is that the primary developer of new traits for developing country needs will probably remain the public sector. However, if a useful trait is developed and protected through IP protection, an effective partnership could be developed that capitalizes on the private sector expertise in developing and bringing products to market, especially if the regulatory environment is predictable and positive. But public sector funding must address issues recently highlighted in the "ASTI Global Assessment of Agricultural R&D Spending, developing countries accelerate investment" published by IFPRI, ASTI and GFAR (link provided below). This report highlights that developing countries must address both the magnitude of the investment and volatility (periodicity).
Finally, the private sector may also have a role in supporting that research. For example, the Monsanto Fund supports a project at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, named VIRCA (virus-resistant cassava for Africa), to develop a cassava that is resistant to Cassava Brown Streak Disease and Cassava Mosaic Disease. In total, Monsanto Fund will provide more than $12M to this project.
Thomas E. Nickson, Ph.D.
International Policy Lead
Monsanto Law Department E1NH
800 N. Lindbergh Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63167
United States
www.monsanto.com
www.isbr.info
office: 314-694-2179
cell: 314-422-8635
fax: 314-694-1622
e-mail: thomas.nickson (at) monsanto.com
Message links:
www.aatf-africa.org/wema
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/agriculturaldevelopment/Pages/water-efficient-maize.aspx
http://astinews.ifpri.info/2012/10/25/asti-global-assessment-of-agricultural-rd-spending-developing-countries-accelerate-investment/
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