SHARING WHAT WORKS
            Anyone who has had a flower or vegetable garden for a number of years has probably observed many things that help their garden do well and other things that have not worked well. Agricultural research works the same way – continually determining what works and what doesn’t work in the field of agriculture.
            U.S. agriculture has been influenced through research from Land Grant Colleges established in the 1800s to advance teaching and research in agriculture and other economically important fields. This research reaches those it serves through extension services. Initially, the research in agriculture was considered public property. The discoveries made by Land Grant Colleges were adopted and improved upon by private companies that turned them into crop varieties for commercial markets. This seed industry thrived in developed countries and increased food production in developing countries.
            Looking to better utilize the research of Land Grant Colleges that were publicly funded, Congress passed an act that encouraged universities to license their inventions to the private sector. In this way private funds could shore up the shrinking funding for agricultural research at the universities. Eventually researchers were allowed to protect new crop varieties using intellectual property such as patents.
            “Today technology ownership is frequently fragmented between many owners. This forces companies to cross-license technologies and can frequently lead to mergers and acquisitions as a means to accumulate portfolios of agricultural intellectual property (IP), such as patents, and material, such as germplasm. There are only a small number of large multi-national firms that control a large proportion of cutting edge agricultural IP. A key goal of this centralization is to enhance a company’s freedom to operate for producing new crop varieties.” www.pipra.org/en/about.en.html
            Now the public sector researchers, continuing as prolific inventors, have difficulty finding out what research already exists and where the rights are held. Some research is held under terms that are confidential and give exclusive rights to the company. Now, the private sector provides innovation for large commercial crops; but the public sector continues to provide “innovation for smaller market specialty crops and supporting humanitarian efforts to improve subsistence staple crops in countries wrought by food insecurity.”
            To meet the needs for access to new agricultural technologies, a non-profit organization, The Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture (PIPRA), has been established. Today it has members from 40 institutions from more than 12 countries around the world. PIPRA serves as a resource for its members that have active independent technology transfer programs and for agricultural scientists that work in the public sector. PIPRA is positioned to facilitate the transfer and adoption of technologies by resource poor farmers.
            The National Association of Conservation Districts, of which our own Stephenson Soil and Water Conservation District is a member, has recently joined PIPRA.
            This information and more at www.pipra.org/en/about.en.html.

Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water
Conservation District, an equal opportunity provider and employer, 07/03/08/08
(for publication on 07/12/08 in the Journal-Standard, Freeport, Illinois).
Della can be reached at info@stephensonswcd.org