In June 2020, Nature Food, an online journal on all aspects of food production, distribution and consumption that contribute to human health published an editorial article entitled “Public-private roles beyond crop yields” focusing on the coordinated efforts in agricultural research and development (R&D) for sustainable food production that must be pursued by the public and private sectors. Funding for breeding programs in the public sector in recent years has threatened public-private sector collaboration aimed at improving agricultural productivity to support a population of around 10 billion by 2050. The private sector tends to focus on applied crop technology from a business perspective of focusing on the market and profit, while the public sector tends to concentrate on research with low profit margins despite high social returns. Decreasing public funding in food and agriculture R&D can affect the sustainability of agricultural systems. The public and private sectors must work together and tackle the food system from a long-term and social perspective. The editorial article is available here.

Reference

Editorial. Public–private roles beyond crop yields. Nat Food 1, 311 (2020). 

Contributor: IIYAMA Miyuki (Research Strategy Office)