Abstract only

The modern maize varieties which eventually make their way into farmers' fields are products of an international breeding system that includes the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), several national breeding programs, and a multitude of private, national and multinational, seed companies. During the period 1998/99,179 public and private seed companies were interviewed. These companies were selected due to their involvement in maize breeding research and the production and distribution of maize seed in seven Asian countries: China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. This study evaluated four principal facets of seed company performance, namely: (a) the level of investment in maize breeding research; (b) germplasm outputs; (c) the nature and extent of roles played in the maize seed industry; and (d) the rate of farm-level adoption of improved maize germplasm. During 1995-97, Asia produced 152 million tons of maize from 42 million ha, yielding an average 3.6 t/ha. Since the 1960s, increases in maize production have been fueled by yield gains rather than by area expansion. Yield gains, in turn, have been due to the shift in maize cultivation from predominantly open pollinated varieties to hybrids. From a base area of 2.4 million ha in 1990, hybrid maize production grew to 8.7 million ha, or 45% of the total maize area in Asia, in 1998. The shift to hybrid maize cultivation also transferred the locus of modem maize breeding research from government research organizations to national and multinational private-sector seed companies. In countries where both public and private sectors participated in maize research, private sector research investment in maize research far exceeded that of the public sector. In 1998, primarily due to more aggressive marketing programs, private sector maize seed sales grew by 24%, while those of the public sector grew by only 2%. In conclusion, public seed research agencies (including universities and cooperatives) have: tended to develop more open-pollinated maize varieties (OPVs) than hybrids; mass-produced and distributed seed cheaply; addressed location-specific production problems and; provided agricultural extension services. Conversely, private seed companies have developed and marketed their own proprietary hybrids. In recent years, the public sector has faced two important challenges: an expanding maize industry that demands improved technologies; and inadequate and declining public resources that, in turn, limit technology development and dissemination activities. Amidst these challenges, governments have encouraged the participation of the private sector by improving the business environment. At present, the public and private sectors in Asia's maize seed industry are linked in knowledge and technology dissemination via human resource development and cooperative experimental trials.

Socioeconomics Program

English

0309|R01CIMPU|AGRIS 0301|AL-Economics Program

Juan Carlos Mendieta

CIMMYT Staff Publications Collection