Proceedings of the Fifth Asian Regional Maize Workshop - Search ...

participation; where foreign companies are welcome, often they are able to import products
developed elsewhere and to adapt them to local production conditions (as opposed to
developing new products from scratch). Larger companies with their own R&D programs
strongly support plant varietal protection laws. It is important to note that the support
for plant varietal protection comes from both national and multinational companies; the
key factor is not where they are incorporated, but rather how large they are and the
extent to which they are investing in R&D.
5. Conclusions
Most countries of Asia are now (or_will soon be) witnessing an unprecedented surge in
the demand for maize, stimulated in large part by rapidly rising consumption of livestock
products. One of the major potential sources of future growth in maize production to meet
this demand will be hybrid technology. In South and SOUtheast Asia, where use of hybrid
maize is still very low, initial adoption of hybrid seed has the potential to make a
particularly dramatic impact. In China, on the other hand, where adoption of hybrids is
already well advanced and where there is a mature market for hybrid seed, replacement of
old hybrids by newer, higher yielding hybrids will be the major source of future yield
growth.
It is now well established that hybrid maize can and will be profitably adopted by
small-scale farmers, provided good quality seed is readily available at reasonable prices.
We have noted in this paper the wide variation in prices of hybrid seed, even seed of the
same type of hybrid. Since evidence from a number of countries suggests that seed-to-grain
price ratios on the order of 10:1 or less (for double-cross hybrids) may be necessary to
encourage widespread adoption of hybrid maize, it is important to understand the factors
which affect seed pricing strategies. Maintaining low seed-to-grain price ratios apparently
requires an efficient seed industry, strong support from public-sector R&D in the form
of inbreds and finished hybrids, and active promotion of hybrid technologies by the public
extension service.
A variety of institutional arrangements involving different degrees of public and
private sector participation have proven to be effective in fostering the emergence and
establishment of hybrid seed markets. Generally speaking, during the initial stages of
market development private companies have a comparative advantage in seed production and
marketing activities, while public institutions have a comparative advantage in R&D.
However, incentives to invest in research change as seed markets mature. In emerging seed
markets, potential returns to R&D are limited, and public breeding programs must be
expected to take the lead in developing not only basic germp1asm, but also more finished
products suitable for immediate distribution. As seed markets evolve and mature, however,
incentives for private sector investment in R&D increase, and private seed companies can
be expected to assume a greater role in developing products specifically designed for
well-identified niches. When this happens, institutional arrangements must evolve to
accommodate the changing role of the private sector, and changes will usually be required
in IPR laws, as well as in procedures for varietal testing and release. As private
companies assume a greater role in R&D, public research organizations frequently will have
to reorient their activities to place greater emphasis on the development of basic
germp1asm, rather than finished products. But Whatever the stage of market development,
each country must develop a strategy that exploits the complementarity between the public
and private sector. Too often these two sectors have been viewed as competitors in the
seed industry.
Finally, while this paper has focused on hybrids, it should be emphasized that
improved OPVs will continue to play an important role in some regions, such as the
mountainous areas of northern Pakistan, northern India, and Nepal. The major challenge in
promoting OPVs more widely in these areas is to find innovative ways to stimulate seed
production. This will require government collaboration with non-governmental organizations,
farmer cooperatives and individual farmer-seedsmen.
222