Bridging the gap? Public–private partnerships and genetically modified crop development for smallholder farmers in Africa

International audience

Inglés. Societal Impact Statement Genetically modified (GM) crops have the potential to address multiple challenges for African smallholder farmers but are limited by several institutional constraints. Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are seen as an organizational fix to one such constraint, bringing privately held intellectual property rights on key crop technologies to African public institutions to develop GM crops for smallholder farmers. Here, a new comprehensive dataset of GM crops in Africa is used to understand the extent and efficacy of PPP‐led GM crop development for smallholder farmers and discuss what might limit their potential in the future. Summary Genetically modified (GM) crops are promoted as a key tool to address multiple challenges in Africa, including the impacts of climate change and food insecurity. Observers have noted, however, significant institutional challenges to achieving such goals, most notably, intellectual property rights (IPR) to key GM traits being held by private companies who have limited incentives to develop those technologies for smallholder farmers. To bridge the gap between privately held IPR and pro‐poor crop breeding, advocates have called for increased funding for institutional innovations such as public–private partnerships (PPPs) to facilitate the transfer of crop technologies from private companies to public research institutes. For the past two decades, donors and firms have invested considerable resources toward PPPs. However, to date, few research efforts have empirically examined the extent and effectiveness of PPPs at the continental scale. This study draws from a new comprehensive dataset on GM crop research and development in Africa to examine whether the anticipated advantages of PPPs have resulted in an improved ability to deliver GM crops to smallholder farmers. We find that although PPP research has focused on crops and traits more relevant for smallholder farmers, many of these efforts have been suspended, with only one crop thus far reaching the hands of farmers. PPPs can address some issues related to GM crop development but still appear constrained by other institutional challenges, which may limit their development, reach, and the achievement of targeted benefits for smallholder farmers.

Español; castellano. Los cultivos genéticamente modificados (CGMs) tienen el potencial de abordar múltiples desafíos para los pequeños agricultores africanos, pero están limitados por varias ataduras institucionales. Las asociaciones público‐privadas (APPs) son vistas como una solución organizacional a una de esas limitaciones: llevar los derechos de propiedad intelectual privados sobre tecnologías de cultivos claves a las instituciones públicas africanas para desarrollar CGMs para los pequeños agricultores. Aquí nos basamos en un nuevo conjunto de datos sobre los CGMs en África para comprender el alcance y la eficacia del desarrollo de CGMs impulsado por los APPs para los pequeños agricultores, y discutir qué podría limitar su potencial en el futuro.

Francés. Les cultures génétiquement modifiées (CGM) ont le potentiel de relever de multiples défis pour les petits exploitants agricoles africains, mais sont limitées par plusieurs contraintes institutionnelles. Les partenariats public‐privé (PPPs) sont considérés comme une solution organisationnelle à l'une de ces contraintes: apporter des droits de propriété intellectuelle sur les technologies agricoles clés aux institutions publiques africaines afin de développer des OGMs pour les petits exploitants agricoles. Nous nous appuyons ici sur un nouvel ensemble de données complet sur les OGM en Afrique pour comprendre l'étendue et l'efficacité du développement des OGMs mené par des PPPs pour les petits exploitants agricoles, et discutons de ce qui pourrait limiter leur potentiel à l'avenir.