Unplanned but well prepared: A reinterpreted success story of international agricultural research, and its implications

Abstract

A recent study found that adoption rates of improved chickpea varieties were above 90 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, India. In this paper, we use a novel perspective to reconstruct and attribute how this outcome came about. The accepted success narrative is that the public international agricultural research system developed some excellent new chickpea varieties, which were well suited to local agro-ecologies, farming systems and cropping patterns, and highly appreciated by farmers. We argue that this narrative is incomplete, because it constitutes only a partial explanation of the confluence of factors that led to the outcome. We reconstruct the success story using a recent conceptual framework that decomposes the technological change process into four aspects: propositions, encounters, dispositions and responses (PEDR). We show that many of the factors which contributed to the spread of modern chickpea varieties in Andhra Pradesh lay beyond the control of the international agricultural research system, and operated across large spatial and temporal scales. In conclusion, we argue that the success of improved chickpeas in Andhra Pradesh underscores the value of basic plant breeding and research, which aim to produce public goods. We relate our analysis to current discussions about the future strategic direction of international agricultural research organisations and the CGIAR. Our argument implies a criticism of the drive to develop new varieties which conform to product profiles that are based on predictions of current and near-term demand. While that approach makes sense for product developers seeking to serve commercial markets, basic research is needed to create and diversify technical options, which anticipate a range of future needs that are hard to predict in the present.

Why are agri-food systems resistant to new directions of change? A systematic review

“…Central to the explanation of resistance to change in research priorities, practices and innovation narratives, is the argument that the institutional setting of (particularly) public agricultural research create a lock-in that supports (path dependant) research trajectories misaligned to the transformation of agri-food systems . This institutional setting includes: the way priorities are set and research capabilities built; professional reward systems for scientists; a lowrisk attitude by research funders; inappropriate patterns of partnership; a lack of complexity aware evaluation practices; and disciplinary fragmentation poorly aligned with transformational challenges (Glover et al, 2021;Turner et al, 2016). This manifests in: short-cycle projects developing incremental solutions (A. J.…”

“…This manifests in: short-cycle projects developing incremental solutions (A. J. IPES, 2016); legacy plant breeding programmes misaligned to current development priorities ; the reluctance of researchers to switch to new topics (Vanloqueren and Baret, 2009); public research strategies, driven by funders, adopt private sector market demand principles at the expense of a portfolio approach adapted to the uncertainties of agri-food system transformation (Glover et al, 2021) and a lack of consideration of the directionality of agriculture and food innovation and its relevance to societal grand challenges (Herrero et al, 2021).…”

Market intelligence for guiding crop improvement: A systematic review of stakeholder preference studies in the rice sector in the Global South and beyond

“…Consumer evaluation of other micronutrient‐enriched rice is very limited, particularly for iron and zinc. Developing micronutrient‐enriched varieties to address multiple deficiencies highlights the importance of (1) broadening the portfolio of technological options for future needs, and not only for current and short‐term market‐oriented needs (Glover et al., 2021), and (2) addressing both chronic and hidden hunger (Lenaerts & Demont, 2021).…”