Advances in New Crops

INTRODUCTION

This papersummarizes some of our experiences gained at the University ofMinnesota in recent years in developing the Center for AlternativeCrops and Products. We expect that these experiences are typical ofsimilar programs in other states and in private organizations. It hasbeen necessary to deal with the development of this new initiative andour specific projects and activities in an atmosphere of resistance,skepticism, parochialism, and unreasonable expectations. Fortunately,there are always some individuals and organizations that are supportiveof and enthusiastic about new crops research and development.

INITIATING A NEW CROPS PROGRAM

Theprincipal activity in starting a new crops program, whether it isintended to develop one or numerous crops, is achieving an effectiveorganization. There are a number of important factors to be considered,as follows:

Champion(s) of the Effort

Everysuccessful new venture requires one or more champions. New directionimplies a high probability of failure, so there must be someone who iswilling to take the risks and not be disturbed when problems occur.Without this kind of leadership, vision, and simple persistence, newideas are not likely to be successful.

Time

Aneffective organization requires the commitment of rime by individuals,and probably a lot of individuals. There is no shortage of time, sincemost of us are expected to do new things. It is simply a question ofwhether individuals are willing to give priority to new crop andproduct activities. In some cases there really is no interest but thereare other reasons why a commitment may not be made, including fear offailure, peer disrespect and administrative disapproval. If more isknown about people’s interests and their crop and disciplinaryexperiences, it’s easier to overcome these problems and obtain theireager participation.

Industry Interest

Agribusinessis the end user of any new crop research and development efforts andcan, consequently, discourage or encourage this work. Experience showsthat interest increases and declines with the general profitability ofagriculture, i.e. there is little encouragement when soybeans are$15/bushel. Despite these interest cycles, there are numerousindividuals in all aspects of this sector who have vision, foresight,and consistent interest in diversification of agriculturalopportunities. These progressive people should be involved in theplanning efforts and can be very helpful in adoption of results.

Theremust also be the capability and the infrastructure in industry to adoptthe results of research and development projects. If the gap betweenthe information and the capability to use it is too great, it will notbe adopted. This technology transfer is critical. In some cases, thiscan be overcome by governmental support programs that provide atemporary “bridge” to allow for adoption of the information andtechnology in pursuit of the new opportunity.

Academic Priority

Inan academic setting, faculty probably have more freedom to explore newcrops and take risks than do their counterparts in private industry.This freedom is dependent, however, on the priority given to this typeof work by administrators at all levels. One of the greatest sources ofdiscouragement to faculty is the potential negative impact theirparticipation in new crops work may have on their performanceevaluations. This type of research is viewed as applied, although thatis not necessarily true, and a lot of administrators give morepriority, to basic research. While it is important to generateenthusiasm among colleagues, it is equally important to convinceadministrator’s, whether in a public or private environment, that thework is valuable, of scientific interest, and can involve a range ofresearch activities from applied to basic. It should also be possibleto show, that this work builds effective interdisciplinary cooperationand opens new ways for researchers to see the application of theirresearch.

Political Priority

Significantsupport in various forms can come from political sources so it isnecessary to cultivate enthusiasm in this area as with other groups.Although some political agencies may not provide financial support,they can be helpful in conducting research and development projects inthe areas of marketing, promotion, legislative liaison and others.Conversely, political agencies and legislative groups can have a verynegative impact on development efforts, if these projects are not highon their priority list. Some politicians and lobbying groups feel thatagriculture is already too productive.

Financial Support

Itis not possible to accomplish long term goals without adequatefinancial support; however, areas such as new crops research anddevelopment require that the factors discussed above be dealt withfirst. Additionally, some results may need to be generated in advanceof funding proposals as evidence of potential. When enthusiasm isdeveloped on all “fronts” for new crops, funding still may not besimple but it is much more likely to be available.

Procuringlong term funding is a difficult situation. There is no wisdom independing on benevolent interests, internal or external, for thesustained funding necessary to conduct programs with aggressiveness andconfidence. From the beginning it is necessary to plan on producing aproduct of sufficient value to permit the complete recovery of allcosts plus some small buffer that can be used to initiate new work.When costs are recovered using the products produced, the program hascontrol of its own destiny. However, when funding comes from othersources, those sources are in control and the project can be terminatedat their discretion. The best that can be achieved is a mix becausemost administrators are not going to allow a program to be totallyindependent and beyond their financial control.

CRITICAL ACTIVITIES IN A NEW CROPS PROGRAM

Afterthe initial hurdles of establishing an organization have beensuccessfully overcome, there are some activities that are critical tothe successful development and commercialization of new crops. Only twoof the many activities will be discussed here. Both are applicable tomost situations and are probably of the greatest importance.

Download

Download Link:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/v1-toc.html