Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
G LOBAL M ARKET FOR C ROP S EED
Seed by Sector of Origin
Seed used for crops has three main sources: farmer-saved or farmer-
sourced seed, commercial seed from the public sector, and commercial seed
from the private sector. Private-sector proprietary seed dominates markets
globally today, particularly in high-income countries.
The dominance of private companies as the primary source of crop seed is
a relatively recent phenomenon. Historically, farmers saved seed from their
own crops or obtained seed from their neighbors for replanting in the next
season. In some cases, poor crops or other negative factors may lead to
consumption of saved seed, and after such periods, farmers may purchase seed
from food markets to replenish their supplies. This is particularly common in
some developing countries and for certain crops. Farmer-saved or “bin-run”
seed continues to be a seed source, even for a major crop such as wheat, in
high-income agricultural economies such as the United States. Plant variety
protection laws, however, tend to restrict or forbid practices such as sales to
other farmers.
As scientific plant breeding developed, public-sector breeders were often
the major sources of new crop varieties. Public-sector varieties have some-
times been multiplied and sold to farmers by private seed distributors, but
these distributors may not conduct seed-related research. In some developing
countries, government-owned companies also distribute public seed varieties.
As the seed industry develops further, however, private companies that
perform their own plant breeding and seed research can become increasingly
important (Morris et al., 1998). In high-income countries, where private-sector
research on crop improvement is significant, public and private research
efforts focus on complementary, but different, stages of the research process.
For example, in plant breeding in the United States today, most public R&D is
oriented toward basic breeding methods or basic germplasm enhancement,
while most private R&D is devoted to commercial cultivar development (Frey,
1996). This balance between public and private-sector roles has continued to
evolve over time, particularly with the more widespread commercial use of
biotechnology techniques (Traxler, 1999). For some commodities (like wheat
and potatoes in the United States), the public sector continues to provide most
of the finished varieties because of a lack of private-sector interest (Heisey et
al., 2001). Both public- and private-sector seed from scientific crop
improvement programs are considered commercial seed, but in this study, we
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