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Public-Good Plant Breeding: What Should Be Done Next?

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Public-Good Plant Breeding: What Should Be Done Next? Philip J. Dale Public-good plant breeding: has, for the past 14 years, been a research group leader at the John Innes Centre, working on What should be done next? geneflow, transgene expression and stability, and several other Philip J. Dale research projects relevant to Date received (in revised form): 2nd December, 2003 assessing the safety of GM crops for health and the environment. He is Deputy Abstract Chairman of the Advisory Plant breeding has played a major role in improving crop production during the past century. Committee on Novel Foods From the birth of genetics to the early 1980s plant breeding was driven in the UK mainly by and Processes and a member of the Agriculture and objectives directed primarily to the public good. Since that time most plant breeding has been Environment Advisory transferred to the private sector, which must define objectives more narrowly in terms of Commission. In the recent UK commercial success. There were significant changes in agriculture over the 20th century, debate and review of GM including the use of production subsidies to stimulate increase in crop production. Associated crops, he was a member of the Public Debate Steering Board with these changes was a growing public unease about the impact of agriculture on the and of the Science Review environment and an increasing dissociation between agriculture and food supply. It is within Panel. this context that the UK has recently decided to review whether to proceed with the commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops. To aid this decision the UK Government has supported a review of the science, economics and public attitudes associated with the decision. As part of this review there has been vigorous campaigning on the topic, which has become polarised and politicised. In considering a future for plant breeding, it is Keywords: public-good important that we take stock of breeding aims that are directed primarily at meeting public- breeding, public debate, agricultural strategies, good and needs-led objectives. Various examples of public-good breeding objectives are environmental impact, discussed. But in meeting future public-good objectives it is important that there is greater breeding technologies honesty and openness in a discussion that values all constructive contributors. INTRODUCTION issues related to food production and its Over the past century scientific plant impact on the environment around us. breeding has made a very significant GM issues have become a lightning rod contribution to satisfying the needs of for wider concerns in society. people for food, feed, fibre and The aim in this paper is to propose a pharmaceuticals. It is estimated that if we future for plant breeding that is directed had not had innovative scientific plant- primarily at meeting the diverse needs of breeding programmes in place since the people and of the environment. Before early 1900s, we would now need extra reflecting on a future for plant breeding land about the size of India to produce that is principally needs-led, it is first our current world food supply.1 Over the necessary to recall its past. past 20 years plant-breeding methods have also made astonishing advances in BRIEF HISTORY knowledge through molecular genetics, Plant breeding relies heavily on the making it possible to modify crops in science of genetics, a term that was coined novel ways. This has provided important only in 1905. Over the following decades, opportunities for plant breeding, but has there were dramatic advances in also raised anxieties of a more general understanding the principles of Philip J. Dale, PhD nature about agriculture, the inheritance. Crop improvement to that John Innes Centre, environment, world food supply and time had been carried forward largely by Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK international trade The recent public empirical selection from what were debate about the commercialisation of originally wild food plants. Selection and Tel: +44 (0) 1603 450000 Fax: +44 (0) 1603 450045 genetically modified (GM) crops in the domestication led to the deliberate E-mail: [email protected] UK has highlighted the emotive nature of cultivation of desirable plants in cleared & HENRY STEWART PUBLICATIONS 1478-565X. JOURNAL OF COMMERCIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY. VOL 10. NO 3. 199–208. MARCH 2004 1 9 9 Dale areas. These early crop improvements plant characters judged at the time to be were achieved with little knowledge of of value to farming and the public. the underlying scientific principles. With Objectives were continually evolving, increasing knowledge of genetics, people with new programmes adopted and old began to appreciate the enormous ones phased out. The UK was also at that potential to improve crops by managed time a major training country for plant hybridisation, along with mass screening breeding, attracting students and visiting and evaluation. During the evolution of scientists from across the world, including breeding methods there have been many many from developing countries. advances in methodology.2 For example, In the 1980s it was considered over the past two decades it has become politically desirable to move services from possible to isolate DNA sequences from the public to the private sector. As a many different organisms that normally consequence, most plant breeding was do not cross-hybridise, and to incorporate privatised. As part of this exercise the them into crop plants. The merit of this Plant Breeding Institute (PBI) in approach is that it provides a wider source Cambridge was sold to the private sector of genes for plant breeders to improve at the time when about 80 per cent of the crops.3,4 wheat varieties grown in Britain were Concurrent with these scientific bred there.6 The sister plant-breeding advances have been major changes in the institutions in Scotland and Wales were incentives for plant breeding and in the not sold, but the plant-breeding In the early 20th organisations engaged in it. In the early programmes that continued were mostly century, plant breeding 20th century plant breeding was seen funded by public–private partnerships or was seen principally as a principally as a public-good activity in the terminated. public-good activity in UK. The science of genetics was young, Plant breeding left to survive by market the UK and two world wars emphasised the forces has undergone a marked change in crucial importance of national self- character. The principal revenue from sufficiency. The need for food security, breeding is from the royalties paid to The need for food and cheap food for a population breeders from plant variety rights, and security and cheap food struggling to rebuild and recover, became from seed sales. As an indication of the became an important an important policy objective. Publicly revenue available for plant breeding, the policy objective supported plant-breeding institutions, total gross income from royalty payments often associated with universities, were on all crop varieties sold in the UK (from established in the UK and across the about 18 different crops) is in the region world.5 These organisations adopted a of £34m per annum.7 For comparison, wide range of breeding objectives for all Tesco, the leading UK supermarket, the principal crops grown in the UK, and makes a pre-tax profit of around £2bn various unfamiliar crops were also per annum. In broad terms, therefore, Cross communication evaluated and developed for cultivation. royalties provide an average gross income and collaboration were The period from the1950s to the 1980s of around £2m per crop in the UK. easy because was the heyday of publicly supported Orphan crops, ones for which there is multidisciplinary groups plant breeding in the UK and insufficient income to fund breeding, are of scientists were found under the same roof internationally, with very close ties those with incomes falling significantly between basic research, strategic research below this threshold. The low income has and practical plant breeding. Cross- been further aggravated by loss of revenue communication and collaboration were for breeders from farmers saving their easy because multidisciplinary groups of own seeds, rather than buying new seeds scientists were found under the same roof, each year. The consequence is that much Plant breeding left to survive by market mixing formally and informally, and of private sector breeding is not very forces has undergone a mostly with a common primary purpose profitable, and increasingly is only viable marked change in of improving crops for the public good. financially by concentrating on breeding character Priorities were directed to the crop and crops and crop characters that have global 200 & HENRY STEWART PUBLICATIONS 1478-565X. JOURNAL OF COMMERCIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY. VOL 10. NO 3. 199–208. MARCH 2004 Public-good plant breeding importance. Varieties of crops adapted to surplus, and prices have become so local environments, regional pests and depressed that even with subsidies, diseases, minority farming systems and farmers are struggling to earn a living. specialised public needs, have largely This is adding further pressure on farmers Crop varieties bred by become uneconomic or at least very to drive down costs of production by the private sector are difficult to sustain. Crop varieties bred by economies of scale and reduction of for the public good, but the private sector are of course used for labour, and to increase yields by chemical their breeding targets the public good, otherwise they would inputs. must be
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