Structuring University– Private Partnerships for Developing and Commercializing Transgenic Horticultural Crops - Transgenic Horticultural Crops: Challenges and Opportunities - page 244

enter.licensing.negotiations.with.third.parties..In.contrast,.under.the.WU/Monsanto.
agreement,.third.parties.hold.only.a.conditional.option..Monsanto.has.right-of-irst-
refusal.on.any.licensing.arrangement.between.the.university.and.third.parties,.even.if.
Monsanto's.original.licensing.option.has.expired..Thus,.Monsanto.is.guaranteed.an.
option.of.irst.refusal.on.any.third.party.offers.made.to.WU..This.severely.limits.the.
options.available.to.third.parties.and.ill.serves.the.interests.of.the.university.
PPPs IN HORTICULTURAL RESEARCH
The.horticultural.research.industry.is.composed.primarily.of.small-.to.medium-sized.
enterprises.with.small.markets.for.individual.products. 26 .Even.though.these.irms.are.
relatively.small,.they.have.demonstrated.a.capacity.to.apply.new.discoveries.for.pos-
sible. commercialization.. However,.when. it. comes. to. genetically. engineered.crops,.
these. small. irms. generally. do. not. have. the. assets. to. develop. new. products.. As. a.
result,.research.funds.in.horticulture.are.sourced.primarily.from.the.public.sector. 26,27
The.reluctance.of.major.biotechnology.R&D.companies.to.dedicate.funds.to.hor-
ticultural. research. is,. in. part,. because. technological. advances. in. horticulture. are.
not.viewed.as.“low-hanging.fruit.”.The.commercial.value.is.not.nearly.as.attractive.
as.that.of.annual.agronomic.crops.grown.on.large.acreages..In.addition,.consumer.
acceptance.of.genetically.modiied.foods.is.considered.a.major.obstacle.to.the.adop-
tion.and.commercialization.of.agricultural.biotechnology..These.constraints.on.the.
application. of. modern. biology. to. the. market. for. horticultural. crops. are. the. most.
important. impediment. to. the. formation. of. public-private. research. partnerships..
Hence,.public.institutions.might.be.best.served.by.forming.partnerships.with.private.
associations.or.consortia.(i.e.,.Western.Fruit.Growers'.Association).rather.than.single.
irms.. Such. partnerships. are. more. likely. to. “crowd-in”. in. contrast. to. “crowd-out”.
public.good.research.at.land-grant.universities. 13
Groups.of.horticultural.irms.have.expressed.interest.in.funding.research.for.crop.
and.seed.improvement.in.response.to.the.recent.global.food.shortages. 27 .These.irms,.
attracted. by.the. research. expertise. of.university. faculty,. have.begun. working. with.
universities.to. develop. effective.new.technologies.. Some. irms.have.indicated.that.
partnerships.with.universities.have.the.added.advantage.of.improving.the.image.of.
genetically.modiied.crops.by.allowing.for.increased.public.exposure.to.the.beneits.
of. their. work.. Though. many. irms. have. expressed. interest. and. some. partnerships.
have.been.formed,.there.is.potential.for.many.more.research.partnerships.
Public.research.institutions.have.much.to.gain.by.forming.partnerships.with.con-
sortia.composed.of.small.private.irms,.nurseries,.or.grower's.associations..Currently,.
these. groups. sponsor. relatively. little. horticultural. research. in. the. United. States. 28 .
A. model. similar. to. Australia's. check-off. funding. organizations*. could. be. used.
to. increase. private. sector. sponsorship. of. public. agricultural. research. institutions..
One.check-off.organization,.Horticulture.Australia.Limited.(HAL),.invests.over.
$80 million.annually.in.more.than.1200.research.partnerships..All.HAL.members.are.
required.to.donate.a.percentage,.determined.by.an.external.council,.of.their.revenue.
* . A.check-off.program.levies.a.small.tax.on.the.producers.of.a.horticultural.product.and.uses.these.funds.
to.sponsor.research.at.public.institutions.