Biotech Updates

IPR and Private Investment in India

November 5, 2010

What are the effects of intellectual property rights (IPRs) on private investment in crop genetic improvement and on agricultural productivity? Researchers led by Deepthi Kolady of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) provide insights in their paper  Intellectual property rights, private investment in research, and productivity growth in Indian agriculture: A review of evidence and options.

Using India as a case study, the IFPRI paper shows that maize and pearl millet yields grew significantly during the last two decades due to the combination of (1) public policies that encouraged private investment in India's seed industry during the 1980s, (2) public investment in hybrid breeding programs that generated new materials offering substantial yield gains, and (3) biological IPRs conferred by hybridization that conveniently married the private sector's need for appropriability with the nation's need for productivity growth. The paper concludes that the "convergence of policy solutions and technology opportunities can be replicated for other crops that are vital to India's food security".

Download the paper at http://www.ifpri.org/publication/intellectual-property-rights-private-investment-research-and-productivity-growth-indian-