OTTAWA – The increasing shift of agricultural research from public to private control could be a setback in the struggle to feed a growing world population, says a leading international research official.
Timothy Reeves, director general of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center with its 17 global, publicly financed research sites, said last week private companies often are less willing to share research results.
Reeves said research in private hands means many benefits of research are not public property, and not available to be improved and used to feed the hungry.
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“There is a potential problem, a whole series of issues we have to face up to,” he said in an interview during a centre promotion trip to Canadian aid offices.
Private companies, which focus food research on areas that promise larger markets and higher profits, likely will not concentrate on crop varieties that can help feed the poor and hungry of the developing world, he said.
“The developing countries are saying they cannot afford multinationals. They cannot afford the product. The alternative is public research.”
As well as private companies, an international research effort nurtured with public dollars and worldwide co-operation between researchers is necessary, he said.
While Canada maintains a public research effort, priorities increasingly will be set by private companies putting money into projects and setting the priorities.
Reeves wants to convince Canada that collaboration with International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center scientists, including sharing of results when possible, remains essential.
