Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
in both Canadian and U.S. canola production. Early glufosinate-tolerant events
can be traced to Plant Genetic Systems, a biotechnology firm that was
acquired first by AgrEvo, then became part of Aventis and eventually Bayer
CropScience. Glufosinate tolerance is also being deployed in corn, cotton, and
soybeans, but market share up to 2007 appeared to be relatively small for these
crops. The only entity outside of the Big 6 companies with notable trait
acreage in 2007 was the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a public
institution, with measureable contributions to Bt cotton planted in both China
and India.
Patent data are probably more useful for testing hypotheses on the
structure of the seed-biotechnology industry than they are as indictors for the
amount of research investment. The amount of patenting in an industry
depends on other factors in addition to research spending, such as changes in
intellectual property policy (the advent of biotechnology changed and
expanded what is considered patentable material in crops). Agricultural
biotechnology patent data have been used to test a number of hypotheses about
market structure, especially the relationship between intellectual property and
mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. This research has shown that these
changes to market structure have been motivated by a need to combine
complementary technology assets such as core germplasm, GM traits, and
research tools (Graff et al., 2003); the desire to acquire greater depth within a
particular technological area (King and Schimmelpfennig, 2005); and the
relative enforceability of patents (Kalaitzandonakes and Bjornson, 1997;
Marco and Rausser, 2008).
Patent and field trial data can also provide evidence on whether or not new
entrants are a significant source of new innovations (Brennan et al., 2005). The
USDA/APHIS field trial data in table 2.4 show more concentration than the
biotechnology patent data, but Brennan et al. find that concentration in both
patents and field trials has increased over time. They claim that new firm entry
has increased, but concentration at the top of the industry has also increased.
By some measures, U.S. cultivar patents are even more concentrated than
other indicators, and at the global level, actually planted GM traits are
dominated by a single firm. These concentration indicators may change as
other major seed-biotechnology companies seek to commercialize new
varieties and traits. Furthermore, tracking traits will become increasingly
complex as multiple GM traits from a variety of firms are inserted into
individual varieties.
