A new three-year project will investigate the optimal structure of a public wheat breeding system in Canada, to support farmer access to new, low-cost crop varieties. The study is funded by the Endowment Fund, administered by Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF).

"As the world crop breeding system becomes globalized, farmers need to be assured they will continue to have access to new innovations, such as crop varieties, at a reasonable cost," says Dr. Richard Gray, professor and Head of Agricultural Economics, University of Saskatchewan.

With decreased public investment and greater private interest in crop breeding, along with the rising influence of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), the system faces new constraints and questions, he says.

"IPRs basically give firms or individuals property rights over intellectual products such as genetic material, and intellectual processes such as certain genetic manipulation techniques. When private firms or individuals hold IPRs, they can charge or stop other scientists from using them. In some cases it is very costly to purchase the rights to use intellectual property. This drives up the cost of doing research and in some cases may block the development of new crop varieties."

More information on the study and Gray's views on issues in public research is available in the May edition of Western Grains Research Magazine, now on the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) Web site, www.westerngrains.com. Western Canadian wheat and barley growers are major investors in breeding research through the Wheat and Barley Check-off Funds, administered by WGRF. The Research Magazine offers "Ideas and issues for farmer research investors."

The IPR phenomenon is already slowing down research efficiency, says Gray. "As more and more of the new intellectual property is protected, it is becoming more difficult to carry out research in the public institutions at a reasonable cost."

This situation should leave prairie farmers concerned about maintaining access to new, low-cost varieties, argues Gray. "As the world crop breeding system becomes globalized, farmers need to be assured they will continue to have access to new innovations, such as crop varieties, at a reasonable cost. "

Adding to the mix is concern about the potential reduction of public funding support for the agricultural research, he says.

Gray's project will focus on wheat breeding as a case study. It will include a literature review, an assessment of the current system, feedback from those working in the system, the identification of alternatives and the development of suggested new models for those alternatives.

"Our ultimate goal is to recommend new research policies and institutions that will maximize the wheat producer benefits from wheat breeding in Western Canada," says Gray.

The May edition of Western Grains Research Magazine also includes an article on innovations in using barley for human food markets, featuring correspondence from Tibet with Canadian researcher Dr. Nancy Ames. Ames was invited for a two-week visit to the Tibetan city of Lhasa, to provide advice on food processing improvements. She also provides insight on the crop's unique role in the country, where barley roasted fresh from the fields has been a dietary staple for more than a century.