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Jules Janick
Department of >
Jules Janick
Department of Horticulture
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907-1165, USA
Research is a cornerstone of economic growth and development in agriculture (Fuglie et al,.1996). In the United States agricultural research, supported by a combination of federal and state government and the private sector, has transformed US agriculture from a resource-based to a science-based industry. Agricultural research continues to be a solid public investment with an annual rate of return of 35% with returns shared by consumers, farmers, and investors. These high rate of return indicate that further allocation of funds to agricultural research would be beneficial and desirable with benefits spilling over beyond the national borders.
Funding policy issues for horticultural research are a subset of the same issues for agricultural research. A number of broad policy considerations are involved including international and national food policy; nutrition health, and environmental issues; agricultural sustainability, rural stability and preservation of community values; and economic development. But because research organizations throughout the world are often organized along commodity lines, there is conflict and competition among agricultural research entities for support. Examples include animal agriculture vs. plant agriculture, agronomic vs. hortiagriculture vs. plant agriculture, agronomic vs. horticultural crops, food crops vs. industrial and ornamental crops, each lobbying for its own commodity or trade groups. Horticultural researchers often find themselves in a defensive position because they deal in a tremendous number of species which individually have the stigma of being considered minor crops. In addition, many horticultural crops gown for amenity purposes are considered by some to be nonessential or trivial despite their economic importance. Furthermore, the emotional issues of world hunger and famine often creates a bias favoring research in feed grains (the basic food crops) which are high in calories relative to traditional fruits and vegetables, which are high in nutritional factors such a vitamins and minerals. A good case can be made that bickering among commodity groups is counterproductive and that the agricultural researchers need to coordinate efforts to increase the total investment in research rather than fostering intense competition for declining resources. A rising tide raises all boats. World population (Table 1) is expected to increase to 11.7 billion in 2100 from 5.3 billion in l990 (Bongarrts, 1995). The 150% population increase expected in the developing world as compared to 24% in the developed world poses a serious challenges for agricultural research. The mission for agricultural research must be to make it possible to combat rural pt be to make it possible to combat rural poverty, malnutrition, and hunger; to improve the economic well being of all involved in the agricultural sector; and to provide the benefits of abundant agricultural products at prices that benefit both consumers and producers.
At the present time agricultural research is carried out by several different entities. Included are national and international research organizations, universities, and the private sector including agricultural suppliers, grower organizations, and entrepreneurs. The amount of research in any area is dynamic but highly responsive to funding. Unfortunately funding for publicaly supported agricultural research is no longer increasing, and in many cases is declining at the same time that the cost of doing research in soaring. For example, severe budget shortfalls at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has triggered massive staff cuts (Bagla l998) and agricultural research departmens in many universities are downsizing. The result has been instability, leading to serious concerns both for researchers scientists and research organization. This conference sponsored by the International and American Society for Horticultural Sciences in large part a reaction to this problem .
Many interacting and competing issues affect agricultural research
policy in general and horticultural research policy in particular.
The objective oresearch policy in particular.
The objective of Working Group 4: (Policy for Horticultural Research)
is to understand how horticultural research is evaluated, supported,
and funded by public and private agencies, and to single out the
importance of research organization in horticulture compared to
the whole of agricultural research. In order to accomplish this,
decision makers from our groups (Universities, Industry, National
and International Research organizations) were canvassed with
a series of open-ended questions (Table 2).
The policies of individual research organizations will be discussed
in a series of papers based in part on this survey. The objective
of this introductory paper is to review those issues that affect
agricultural and horticultural research policy.
The1997 FAO World Food Conference in Rome identified Food Security as one of the chief issues facing the developing world and assisting organizations. Food security includes food sufficiency, economic availability, and nutritional quality. However, many policy makers concerned with food security stress the major cereals, particularly the big three: rice, wheat, and maize and almost completely ignore horticultural crops and relegates them to insignificance despite their importance o human diets (Table 3). Thi human diets (Table 3). This policy also ignores the importance of horticulture crops in human nutrition, employment, and export earnings. Examples of horticultural success stories in the developing world include the vegetable export industry in Kenya and the flower industry in central America. Because horticultural crops often require the highest level of technology, advances in this sector could be instrumental in raising all agricultural technology. Horticulture could be strengthened by focusing attention on the importance of horticultural crops to diets in the developing world with special emphasis on tropical and temperate root crops (potato, sweet potato, cassava), starchy fruit crops (banana, plantain), and vegetables with high nutritional value (bean, crucifers, tomato).
World food policy has concentrated almost exclusively on calories with slight attention to protein and vitamins. Despite expanding population in the next 50 years, policy in many countries still assumes that protein will be met by increases in animal consumption. This will not be the case in many poor countries where population increases could almost double in the next 30 years. Furthermore, the major contribution of horticultural legumes, as well as starchy crops such as potato, to protein nutrition is often underestimated.
The importance of horticultural crops to quality of life issues everywhere is compelling but importance of fruits here is compelling but importance of fruits and vegetables in improving diet quality has often been ignored to the detriment of horticultural research. The work at the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Centre (AVRDC) has demonstrated that horticultural crops are crucial to preventing severe nutritional disorders in very poor countries. The nutritional well-being of children and others increased as availability of horticultural crops increased. Vitamin A deficiency is a serious problem in certain very poor countries and the easiest way to overcome that problem is a few vegetables or fruits in the diet. New evidence suggests that the health benefits of horticultural corps extends will beyond minerals and vitamins. There is now compelling evidence that compounds in brassicas, alliums (onion and garlic), and tomato have positive health benefits in preventing certain diseases including cancers. The "five a day" campaign to increase vegetables in the United States has increased awareness of their benefits, but there is still much that can be accomplished. Finally diet satisfaction is also greatly enhanced by crops which add spice to the diet, consequently condiments and spices are key components in developing countries because they add zest to an otherwise very dull diet. A closer alliance of horticulture with nutritionists and health workers is needed.
In the past emphasis on food safety has concentrated on the problemon food safety has concentrated on the problems
associated with pesticides which are widely used in horticultural
crops. Horticulture has, as a result, been severely castigated
by the environmental movement which has had a negative effect
on horticultural funding. Recently, severe outbreaks of animal
diseases (swine fever, mad cow disease, pathogenic strains of
B. coli) have underscored the importance of food safety
in animal production systems and have put food safety issues in
a new light. Although the cause of the outbreak of E. coli
in Japan, which was initially believed to be associated with
radish sprouts, was not substantiated, the case of hepatitis spread
by strawberries indicate that infectious diseases will also be
an important issue of fresh products especially as international
trade increases. Clearly, world food safety is an issue that needs
to be understood in a wider agricultural context. Horticulture
needs to join forces with agronomy and animal agriculture to improve
sanitation in food handling and to clarify precisely the role
of the pesticide industry in developing both a safe and productive
agriculture. Fumigation in export fruits and vegetables, food
irradiation, and the implementation of integrated pest management
systems are important policy issues that need to be resolved.
National research in horticultural icy
National research in horticultural is well funded only in those areas in which individual horticultural crops represent either a major national industry or which represent a key export commodity. Because horticulture often involve so many species, many crops, which are of world importance, are slighted or ignored completely in international funding. Examples include edible legumes as well as many temperate and tropical fruit crops. For example, the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research), includes only one international research centers devoted exclusively to horticultural crops: CIP (potato and sweet potato). The contribution of flower crops, fruit crops, and temperate vegetables have been ignored despite the importance of these crops to employment and economic development. Floral crops have been completely ignored by international funding agencies despite their increasing importance in the export economies of developing countries. As a result research on most horticultural crops has been carried out on an ad hoc basis, and is often uncoordinated among research groups.
New research paradigms are required. Recognizing that agricultural research is a world concern, a successful approach to maximize research input has been the development of global programs. Horticultural examples include late blight control in potato and banana and plantain improvement. In l997 a global Musa improvemenent. In l997 a global Musa improvement program (ProMusa) was developed as a means to link research on the problems of export banana with initiatives directed to aiding subsistence farmers and small holders. This innovative program derives from cooperation between CGIAR, the Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP)--a program of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), and the World Bank (Frison et al. 1997).
One approach to increasing the effectiveness of national research
has been to attempt to formulate new types of research organizations.
One example is HortResearch of New Zealand, a Crown Research Institute
(CRI), modeled as a private research organization. HortResearch
is in fact a company owned by the government ,where the shareholders
are the Minister of CRI and the Minister of Finance. HortResearch
receives 60% of its revenue from government and the 40% from the
private sector, mainly grower organizations. The strategy of this
organization is to allow free market forces to operate in the
research sector creating a research organization that is performance
oriented. Transfer technology activities such as orchard field
days, are charged for at commercial rates and accumulated profits
are taxable with surpluses reinvested for further research activities.
In the United States at the present time, almost two thirds United States at the present time, almost two thirds of agricultural research is now conducted by the private sector (Huffman and Evanson, l993; Huffman and Just, l997). Since 1980, the growth in agricultural research funds in constant dollars has large been in the private sector (about 3%) per year. In the emerging area of agricultural biotechnology, the private sector has taken the lead and research is dominated by a relatively few corporations such as Monsanto, DuPont, and Novartis. Protected by intellectual property rights in the form of utility patents, these companies have made strategic alliance with seed companies. A new product such as "Roundup Ready" soybeans makes it possible to combines sales of both herbicide and germplasm. The entrance of large international research organizations to the field of agricultural research is changing the agricultural research scenario.
However, the extensive area devoted to major agronomic crops (cereals, sugarcane, cotton) as compared to horticultural crops had encouraged industry to focus attention on a few major crops and only those horticultural crops that are highly concentrated and export driven. Industry endeavors which are profit driven requires a value-added component. Thus, industry research in agriculture is concentrated on the development of new cultivators and inputs, including pesticides, and in technologies related to productivity such as mechanization and storage. Yet, rty such as mechanization and storage. Yet, research effort by industry is quite narrow; in the fields of crop improvement it has been concentrated in major cereals and only in those vegetables where heterosis and can be exploited, leaving other crops to the public sector. Pesticide development is restricted to major crops and registration for minor crops continues to be a problem. Ways must be found to increase industry participation in horticultural crops probably through partnerships with the public sector. On approach on the national letter is the development of joint breeding programs carried by the French agricultural research organization (INRA) with private nurseries in the disease resistant apple breeding program.
The general consensus in the United States is that public research
institutions should focus on producing advances in more basic
areas that are ultimately complementary to research and development
in the private sector but should continue to conduct applied research
in areas where the innovations are socially beneficial and where
private markets do not exist such as in minor crops, food safety,
and environmental quality (Huffman and Just l997).
With the increase in urbanization and the increase in farm size,
rural depopulation has become a problem in many areas. Preserving
the rural environment and our agricultural heritage while preventingent and our agricultural heritage while preventing
or at best limiting urban sprawl is increasingly seen as a quality-of-life
issue. Consequently rural stability has become an important national
issue especially in crowded areas of Europe such as The Netherlands
and France where preserving the green environment requires national
policy decisions. Horticulture has a major role in this movement
because it is structurally adapted to small units and family operations.
This will require cooperation and coordination of horticultural
research, urban planning, agricultural zoning, and ecotourism.
In the developing world the chief environmental issues have been brought principally brought about by poor farming practices, such as overgrazing and poor cultivation techniques on marginal sites, which result in serious problems of soil erosion. Inputs are expensive so that misuse of pesticides comes about from lack of application technology and poor user education, rather than general overuse. In the case of chemical fertilizers, the problem has rather underuse rather than overuse. In Africa, lack of inexpensive fertilizers, has been one of the major restraints to increasing production that is so desperately needed.
In the developed world the resurgence of the environmental movement
has drawn attention to agricultural sustainability and away from
produc to agricultural sustainability and away from
production per se, especially in Europe where overproduction
of horticultural crops has been a problem. Horticulture has been
directly challenged by the environmental movement in the developed
world because it uses a disproportionate share of agricultural
chemicals including pesticides, herbicides, fumigants, and fertilizers
which can adversely effect water, soil, and air quality. Here,
a policy shift to reward quality achieved through environmentally
friendly practices is required. Quality production of fruit and
vine crops is compatible with low fertilizer inputs Furthermore,
fruit production, which is appropriate on hillsides and other
marginal sites, could be an important component of agricultural
sustainability. Because of concerns over excessive pesticides
the research focus in horticultural pest control has already shifted
to systems of integrated pest management, genetic resistance,
and other environmental friendly systems.
The policy issues articulated above reveal a great number of competing goals by donors and recipients of research funds. Superimposed on these issues is the political reality of research funding in both the national and international arena. National funding in the developed world has been impacted by the problem of surpluses and the enormous costs of agricultural subsidies in Europe and North America. Under this subsidies in Europe and North America. Under this situation it has been politically difficult to increase funding for agricultural research funding because of the perception that such a policy would exacerbate the surplus problem, at least in the short run. In the international arena there has been a significant decline in funding for agricultural research since the heady days of the "Green Revolution." From l973 to l981, agricultural assistance to developing countries tripled but since l980 funding has declined and by l990 USAID agricultural commitment commitments were only one quarter of those of l980 (Hardin, 1994).
Past agricultural research efforts have paid off handsomely in Europe and North America by lowering production costs, hence decreased prices to consumers. This process has also contributed to the accumulation of surpluses, especially when governmental subsidies have been employed to support prices. But, the necessity of continued agricultural research now fails to move an electorate far removed from its rural roots, and faced with ever increasing urban problems such as crime, and personal problems such as healthcare. Still it has been difficult to decrease the huge expenditure of public funds for subsidies of feed grains, dairy, and cotton (but not horticultural crops in the US) or to allocate the proposed savings anticipated from reduced subsities to increased funding for agricultural research. The end result i for agricultural research. The end result is not a pretty picture for the agricultural research community in the United States or Europe. Because population growth in the developed world is not a real problem, now or in the foreseeable future, it is difficult to use increasing population in the developing world as a way to shame governments in developed countries to increase national support for agricultural research. Similarly dire warnings of a food crisis have not materialized as a result of increasing agricultural productivity in China and India, a fact about which the research community should be justly proud. Have we been "hoisted by our own petard"?
In the United States despite the successes of research, production agriculture has declined in relative importance in terms of its share of gross national product contribution or to the absolute number of farms and farm workers. At the close of the 20th century agriculture in the United States represents over a 200 billion dollar industry in an economy of slightly over 7 trillion dollars. The direct contribution of agriculture to the US gross national product is less than 3% despite the fact that agriculture taken together still represents one of the largest industries. Of the 200 billion dollars generated by US agriculture about half is generated by crops which include food and feed grains such as maize, oilseeds such as soybeans, and fiber plants such as cotton. Horybeans, and fiber plants such as cotton. Horticultural crops (fruits, vegetables, greenhouse, nursery, turf) represent close to 35% of the value of all crops yet are produced on less than 5% of total crops land and concentrated unevenly. While horticulture represents a very intense and important part of the agricultural sector, the total farm gate value of horticulture ($35 billion) is less than 0.5% of the US economy, still "small potatoes." As a result the political clout of agriculture/horticulture, although once strong, continues to decline. This may explain why the national agricultural research effort is trivial as compared to health, commerce, and defense.
The situation is worse when it comes to the developing world because donor nations have become fatigued with providing assistance and have retreated inward, concerned with needs at home. The steep decline in support for international agricultural research has a number of explanations. Perhaps the main cause is the dirty little secret that the increased levels of agricultural support in the l960s were more a result of Cold-War mentality than benevolence. In the post Cold War era of complacency, benevolence alone has not been a sufficient politically mobilizing force. Without the cover of the communist threat it is becoming increasingly difficult to convince an electorate that the needs of poverty abroad compete effectively with the needs of the less advantaged at hy with the needs of the less advantaged at home.
What is a realistic strategy for the agricultural research establishment
given the importance of research to future gains in agricultural
productivity that we know are required and deliverable. One strategy
for horticulture at least is to align agricultural support with
health funding via two approaches: the health benefits of nutrition
and the problem of food safety. Agriculture also a strong message
in preserving the environment and rural communities; agriculture
must present itself as an ally of the environmental movement,
not an antagonist. Because agricultural research has a good story
to tell in terms of returns on investment the best strategy in
the long run would be to organize all components of the agricultural
research community to band together to at least maintain and hopefully
to modestly increase funding. It will be surely needed in the
long run.
Frison, E.A, W.W. Collins, and S.L. Sharrock. 1997. New visions in agricultural research: The development of global programs using ProMusa as an example. HortScience 32:1161-1164.
Bagla, P. 1998. Midlife crisis threatens center of sermiarid crops.
Science 279:26-27.
Bongaarts, J. 1995. Chapter 2. Global and regional populations
projections to 2025. p.7- 22. In: N. Islam (ed.), Population and
food in the early twenty-first centry. : Meeting futurand
food in the early twenty-first centry. : Meeting future food demand
of an increasing population. International Food Policy Reserarch
Insitute (IFPRI) Washington D.C.
Fuglie, K. N. Ballenger, K. Day, C. Klotz, M. Ollinger, J. Reilly,
U. Vasavada, and J. Yee. 1996. Agricultural research and development:
Public and private investments under alternative markets and institutions.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Economic Report 735.
Washinton DC. 74p.
Hardin, L.S. 1994. Whence international agricultural research?
Food Policy 19:561-567.
Huffman, W.E. and R. E. Evenson. 1993. Science for agriculture:
A long-term perspective. Iowa University Press, Ames. p.268p.
Huffman, W. E. and R. E. Just. 1997. Agricultural research: Benefits
and beneficiaries of alternative funding mechanism. Staff Paper
291. Iowa State University, Ames.
Table 1. World population growth, 1990-2100 (Bongaarts 1995).
| Countries | ||||||
| Developing | Developing | |||||
| Developed | ||||||
| World total | ||||||
Table 2. Questions submitted to
decision-makers in horticultural and agricultural research.
1. What are the major imperatives impacting your organization
that impact on the research efforts in agriculture in general
and horticulture in particular.
Examples: Economic imperatives such as increasing corporate profit,
market share, new markets, new ventures (private sector); increasing
gross national product, increasing employment, globalization to
increase exports or reduce imports (public sector); national and
international issues such as food security (food sufficiency,
economic availability, nutritional quality), food safety, environmental
protection, rural stability).
2. How is policy determined to allocate resources for agricultural research in general and horticultural research in parti research in general and horticultural research in particular.
Examples: External boards, advisory groups, government, industry
and grower pressure/support, self generated from administration
or scientist, ad hoc response to presssures, strategic planning
efforts.
3. What avenues have you chosen to achieve your objectives.
Examples: In house research, sponsored research both public and
private, partnerships, interdisciplinary research, research incentives
such as shared royalites, profits, prizes.
4. What strategies do you found effective to influence funding at the highest levels.
Examples: Public relation efforts to achieve "grass roots"
support, use of lobbyists, extension efforts, educational programs.
5. Please feel free to share any other comments or concerns
that they might feel are not addressed by these questions and
which are pertinent to your organization and are a part of policy
development.
Table 3. The 30 most important crops according to 1995 world total production (http://apps.fao.org/lim500/nph-wrap.pl?Production.Crops.Primary&Domain=SUA). Note that 11 of the 30 crops (36%) are horticultural.
| Crops | Area | Productionz | Yield | Area | Productionz | Yield | Area | Productionz | Yield | |||
| (000 ha) | (000 t) | (t/ha) | (000 ha) | (000 t) | (t/ha) | (000 ha) | (000 t) | (t/ha) | ||||
| Sugar Caney | 1,0="RIGHT" WIDTH=68>1,077 | 84,047 | 78.1 | 17,320 | 1,083,489 | 62.6 | 18,398 | 1,167,535 | 63.5 | |||
| Rice | 4,368 | 25,670 | 5.9 | 145,197 | 525,198 | 3.6 | 149,566 | 550,869 | 3.7 | |||
| Wheat | 119,282 | 288,907 | 2.4 | 100,868 | 255,408 | 2.5 | 220,150 | 544,315 | 2.5 | |||
| Maize | 44,082 | 263,329 | 6 | 91,588 | 251,381 | 2.7 | 135,670 | 514,710 | 3.8 | |||
| POTATO | 11,092 | 182,744 | 16.5 | 7,335 | 102,366 | 14 | 18,427 | 285,100 | 15.5 | |||
| Sugar Beety | y | 6,549 | 224,815 | 34.8 | 1,391 | 40,006 | 28.8 | 7,851 | 264,821 | 33.7 | ||
| CASSAVA | 0 | 0 | 16,304 | 164,163 | 10.1 | 16,304 | 164,163 | 10.1 | ||||
| Barley | 52,095 | 116,192 | 2.2 | 17,309 | 26,343 | TD> | 1.5 | 69,404 | 142,535 | 2.0 | ||
| SWEET POTATO | 101 | 1,919 | 18.9 | 9,011 | 134,222 | 14.9 | 9,133 | 136,141 | 14.9 | |||
| Soybean | 29,916 | 63,378 | 2.4 | 35,389 | 62,433 | 1.8 | 62,305 | 125,812 | 2.0 | |||
| BANANA/PLANTAIN | 860 | 83,787 | 84,647 | |||||||||
| TOMATO | 1,003 | 35,443 | 35.3 | 2,067 | 48,945 | 23.7 | 3,070 | 84,389 | 27.5 | |||
| Cottonseed | 10,014 | 18,621 | 1.9 | 25,338 | 39,307 | 1.6 | 35,352 | N="RIGHT" WIDTH=83>57,928 | 1.6 | |||
| ORANGE | 17,545 | 39,699 | 57,243 | |||||||||
| GRAPE | 38,186 | 17,179 | 55,364 | |||||||||
| Sorghum | 4,370 | 13,821 | 3.2 | 38,090 | 40,606 | 1.1 | 42,461 | 54,GN="RIGHT" WIDTH=83>54,428 | 1.3 | |||
| APPLE | 24,236 | 25,577 | 49,813 | |||||||||
| COCONUT | 0 | 0 | 10,102 | 47,126 | 4.7 | 10,102 | 47,126 | 4.7 | ||||
| CABBAGE | 840 | 20,859 | 24.8 | 1,109 | 25,558 | 23.123.1 | 1,949 | 46,416 | 23.8 | |||
| WATERMELON | 662 | 8,688 | 13.1 | 1,694 | 31,636 | 18.7 | 2,356 | 40,324 | 17.1 | |||
| DRY ONION | 596 | 12,165 | 20.4 | 1,653 | 24,916 | 15.1 | 2,250 | 37,081 | 16.4 | |||
| Canola | 10,15210,152 | 18,091 | 1.8 | 13,394 | 16,418 | 1.2 | 24,146 | 34,509 | 1.4 | |||
| YAM | 10 | 201 | 20.4 | 3,164 | 32,880 | 10.4 | 3,174 | 33,081 | 10.4 | |||
| Oat | 16,921 | 27,002 | 1.6 | 1,224 | 1,792 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 18,145 | 28,794 | 1.6 | ||
| Peanut | 780 | 1,789 | 2.3 | 21,383 | 26,851 | 1.3 | 22,163 | 28,640 | 1.3 | |||
| Millet | 1,296 | 1,051 | 0.8 | 34,960 | 25,949 | 0.7 | 36,256 | 27,000 | 0.7 | |||
| Sunflower | 13,357 | 13,357 | 16,198 | 1.2 | 7,644 | 10,079 | 1.3 | 21,002 | 26,277 | 1.2 | ||
| Rye | 9,727 | 21,662 | 2.2 | 716 | 1,010 | 1.4 | 10,443 | 22,672 | 2.2 | |||
| MANGO | 78 | 18,916 | 18,994 | TD> | ||||||||
| DRY BEAN | 1,685 | 2,499 | 1.5 | 25,445 | 15,603 | 0.6 | 27,129 | 18,102 | 0.7 | |||
z Total harvested
weight.
y All crop harvested that is mostly used for the production
of centrifugal and non-centrifugal sugar. However, in several
countries, sugar can may be also used for seed, feed, fresh consumption,
and alcohol. Similarly, some sugar beet may be used for feed and
alcohol.
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