What is the likely/perceived role of the public plant breeding sector in fulfilling these needs?. 42

The question regarding the role of the public plant breeding sector has been discussed during the interviews with the experts and also during the workshop that took place on 11 April 2012. The main conclusions are discussed below.

Public sector agricultural research in general and public plant breeding research in particular has seen a reduction of activities for the last 30 years. This trend is more pronounced in the former EU 15 MS than in the new and candidates EU MS where there still are found public institutes that can be considered leading breeding actors (IHAR in Poland, Novi Sad in Serbia, INCDA-FUNDULEA in Romania).

In contrast, private sector plant breeding investment has grown dramatically. Varietal protection and globalisation of the plant breeding schemes are additional reasons for the shift of balance of plant breeding activity from the public to the private sector.

This shift did materialise over a period of 30-40 years and not suddenly. It can also be observed that that shift is more pronounced for conventional (applied) plant breeding and that public budgets have moved to support upstream research (basic research, genomics and pre-breeding activities). Several arguments for public sector investment in plant breeding have been mentioned by experts contacted to date as follows:

 Scientific research in genomics and basic research is a “public good” as it is benefiting the society as a whole. It may complement the private research and give access to results to all SME’s that have not the resources nor the capacities and expertise to engage in this type of research;

 Public plant breeding should complement private breeding for breeding (germplasm development and variety development) new traits of interest (e.g. traits regarding the respect of the environment) and for breeding on orphan crops (crops that private breeders are not investing in any longer as the costs of breeding are too high in regard to the possible return on investment);

 As in the past, public plant breeding can initiate the take-off of private breeding efforts for crops/traits combinations that are not considered by the private sector to date (e.g. silage maize breeding has been initiated by the French (INRA) and German (University of Hohenheim) public breeders before shifting to the private sector).

As an outcome of the workshop organised in the course of this study, the following areas have been considered as being the main focus of public applied plant breeding for the future:

 Improve minor crops neglected by the industry (e.g. field peas). For minor crops and for so called “non-cash” crops, private companies, especially SMEs, do not have sufficient resources to develop strong breeding programmes. Here, public breeding can play a major role moving them upstream in the research pipeline, to foster varietal development and the competitiveness of the breeding sector, including pre-breeding and conservation of varieties in gene banks;

 Increasing public sector commitment to germplasm preservation and development. For example, in the face of climate change and to meet the demands of a growing population, there is a strong need to continually obtain new varieties with improved characteristics. It is therefore important to enrich the genetic base of plant breeding. Genetic resources such as landraces are the basis for this, but it is a time-consuming and expensive procedure to introduce and validate new genetic traits into adapted plant material that can be used by plant breeding companies for further variety breeding;

 Refining and testing methodologies for variety testing. Climate change is not only a challenge for agricultural practices; it will also have a huge impact on seed companies. The need for greater flexibility in varietal development, in order to adapt to climate change, will increasingly be addressed by developing different germplasm in different locations. Public breeding will therefore have a direct role to play in developing and improving germplasm as a basis for competitiveness of a diverse seed industry which produces locally adapted varieties, for instance by fostering networks of experimental testing stations in different growing zones and climatic conditions.

 Enhanced technology transfer. Time-to-market for a new variety can take on average between 10-12 years. The use of new techniques, as well as the development of pioneering techniques, is essential to speed up the breeding cycles. In addition, the greater integration of new tools, such as new techniques for phenotyping plants as well as use of bioinformatics and data management systems, will be crucial. Public breeding can play a decisive role in this respect;

 Evaluate new plant breeding approaches (participatory breeding). PPB is defined as a form of plant breeding in which farmers, as well as other stakeholders, such as extension staff, seed producers, traders, NGOs, etc., participate in the development of a new variety. The objective is to produce varieties, which are adapted not only to the physical but also to the socio-economic environment in which they are utilized (Ceccarelli and Grando, 2007). At the European level, it has to be noticed the creation in 2012 of the European Coordination for farmers’ seed, which constitutes a network of the different national networks.

The current members are: Réseau Semences Paysannes (France), Rete Semi Rurali (Italy), Red de Semillas (Spain), Pro Species Rara (Switzerland), Arche Noah (Austria), Scottish Crofting Federation (UK). The creation of the European coordination was helped by a European project: Farmer’s Seeds Project - Best Practices in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Sovereignty²⁵ (funded by the UE commission for 36 months, 1,300 K Euros with Italy, France, Scotland, Romania, Hungary, Senegal and Tunisia, 2009-2011).

 Educate and train plant breeders.The European Seed Association (ESA) recognises that there is a strong need for highly specialised plant breeders that are familiar with traditional as well as new breeding techniques, and having an increasingly multidisciplinary set of skills. Public plant research and breeding institutes, in partnership with private companies, can play a major role in developing and fostering the necessary skills-base for breeding and varietal development.

Literature review shows that there is a large consensus on the future role of public plant breeding activities to the exception of participatory plant breeding (PPB). The next chapters of this report do not consider PPB as no data related to the actual efforts have been compiled to date. Instead, we present an introduction of PPB objectives and list the main current initiatives under Annex 2.

3.5 Needs that are not sufficiently covered by the private sector?

Plant breeding is subject to top confidentiality. Private breeders are not used to disclose what they are breeding for. Research activities are not protected against possible stealing of varieties and numerous examples have showed that misuse of genetic material did happen in the past²⁶.

Therefore, the analysis of crop/trait combinations that are not sufficiently covered by the private sector has been made based on perceptions of experts and of national registration officers that have been met during the study rather than on hard data. Table 6 presents likely objectives under breeders consideration when the table below assesses whether or not enough efforts are being devoted to deliver a trait. A given trait can be considered as a priority but efforts may not be seen as sufficient to fulfil the objectives of the bio-based economy strategy 2020 and vice and versa. Eventually the following table only addresses private efforts and do not include public ones.

Table 7 - Likely crop/traits combinations not or not sufficiently covered by the private sector

Fruits

Winter wheat Maize Triticale Sunflower Winter OSR Soybean All gramineae All legumes Wine Apple Potatoes All Brassiceae All tomatoes All lettuces Sugar beet Hop Cotton Miscanthu s Jatropha Poplar Others

Yield

Respect of the environment Less dependent in input factors Phytoremediation

Cereals Oilseeds Fodder plants Vegetables Industrial crops Others

Source: Compiled by Arcadia International Note: In black: Not Applicable

Crop/trait combination partly covered by the private sector Crop/trait combination not sufficiently covered by the private sector