Plant genetic resources for agriculture, plant breeding, and biotechnology: experiences from Cameroon, Kenya, the Philippines, and Venezuela

This report discusses the plant breeding and biotechnology innovative capacity of four countries: Cameroon, Kenya, the Philippines and Venezuela, which were included in a survey conducted by the FAO. The authors introduce a conceptual framework that uses innovative capacity to expand the discussion on agricultural research and development (R&D) capacity to the broader context of national innovative capacity. <br /><br />The analysis focuses on examining the human and financial resources available to conduct research, as well as the assessment of crop priorities, and the output produced in each country. <br /><br />A number of findings are reported, these include: <br /> with the exception of Venezuela, all of the countries in the study made significant investments in plant breeding and biotechnology capacity in terms of human and financial resources, reflecting the countries&rsquo; belief in the use of agricultural technology to help alleviate national poverty in most cases these investments have declined over time, particularly in the case of plant breeding, this may reflect an overall reduction in the value of agriculture to these economies all four countries produced significant outputs in terms of varieties over time and whilst the authors are unable to quantify how many of the varieties produced actually reached the farmers, the R&D systems in these countries managed to meet significant milestones in terms of creating varieties that may be useful to farmers in some of the countries described in this paper, the number of varieties and/or the number of crops in the R&D portfolio declined over the study period, as a possible result of decreased investments in financial resources, reductions in the number of scientists, or a shift in priorities, rather than reflecting actions of the R&D systems themselvesThe authors assert that there are two important issues identified in the literature that are critical for the future strengthening of plant breeding and biotechnology capacity and for shaping policies pursuing this goal: <br /> plant breeding is a long term venture and its success builds slowly and cumulatively; therefore, funding uncertainty can only serve to reduce the effectiveness of such programs; and specific plant breeding goals such as long-term research may be best suited for the public sector. However, given public financial constraints, this is an investment gap that will need to be closed by the international donor community and other interested stakeholders. In conclusion, the authors hope that this report serves as a guide for deriving policies that will lead to innovative alternatives for solving the gaps and limitations described in this paper and ultimately fulfil the potential contained in plant genetic resources for agriculture. <br /><br />