Where would the world be without innovation? Well, I guess, we’d be sitting around a campfire and living in caves, and I am pretty sure nobody wants to go back to that era. All joking aside, in the same way innovation is essential in our daily lives, it is absolutely critical to the long-term success of the seed sector.
Though innovation is often defined as ‘a new idea, method, or device or the introduction of something new’, I see innovation as the process of bringing about something not just new but with a significant positive impact and value. It all starts with a creative concept, which transforms into a tangible outcome that addresses unmet needs or, in the case of a process, improves efficiency and effectiveness. Critical to this process is also intellectual property – ensuring that innovators can harness this creativity to transform moonshot ideas into real impact.
Driving human progress
Innovation has long been the engine driving human progress, reshaping societies and transforming industries. From the wheel to the internet, each breakthrough has built upon the efforts and ingenuity of countless others who dared to envision a different future. The power of innovation lies in its ability to solve problems, create new opportunities and push the boundaries of what we believe is possible. While the concept of innovation is as old as humanity itself, it is reshaping our world faster than ever before.
Innovation in plant breeding and the seed sector
One of the most significant areas where innovation has had a profound impact is in agriculture, especially the plant breeding and seed sector. The development of new plant varieties and improved seeds has been instrumental in addressing food security, increasing crop yields and making agriculture more sustainable.
The 20th century saw tremendous advancements in plant breeding, driven by the discovery of the principles of genetics by Gregor Mendel and the later development of biotechnology. The Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, which introduced high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice, is a prime example of how innovation in plant breeding can have a transformative impact. This revolution helped to alleviate hunger in many parts of the world by dramatically increasing food production.
But one crucial enabler of this innovation often gets overlooked: intellectual property (IP). Strong IP frameworks do not just benefit companies; they benefit farmers, food systems, and, ultimately, consumers. Systems such as patents and plant breeders’ rights (PBRs) provide the incentives and legal framework that encourage investment in research and development. Without IP protection, the enormous financial and scientific risks involved in breeding new varieties would be far less attractive to innovators. Indeed, studies have shown that the introduction of Community Plant Variety Rights in Europe has delivered billions of euros in economic and environmental benefits, boosting productivity, competitiveness and sustainability.
At the forefront: How intellectual property drives progress
Today, the seed sector continues to be at the forefront of agricultural innovation. Companies are investing in research and development to create seeds that are more resilient to climate change, pests, and diseases. For example, drought-tolerant crops are being developed to help farmers cope with increasingly erratic weather patterns. Similarly, pest-resistant varieties reduce the need for crop protection products, contributing to more sustainable farming practices.
Moreover, the advent of CRISPR and other gene-editing technologies has opened up new possibilities in plant breeding. These technologies allow for precise modifications to plant genomes, enabling the development of crops with enhanced nutritional content, better storage life and other desirable traits.
Here too, IP plays a decisive role. Patents and plant breeders’ rights ensure that those who invest in developing these cutting-edge technologies can see a return on their efforts, while still enabling breeders to build upon each other’s innovations. This balance between protecting innovation and ensuring access has been a cornerstone of frameworks such as the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). In fact, countries that have joined UPOV have seen remarkable boosts in breeding innovation and private sector investment. A recent study from Vietnam confirms these findings.
The seed sector’s role in innovation extends beyond just improving crop yields. It also plays a crucial part in preserving biodiversity. By developing and distributing a wide variety of seeds, breeders help to maintain a diverse gene pool, which is vital for the resilience of agricultural systems in the face of environmental changes.
Creative destruction
At the very heart of innovation is creative destruction: the deliberate dismantling of established processes to make way for improved methods of production. Though the concept sounds negative, it is a critical component of innovation-driven change and growth. It is most often used to describe disruptive technologies such as the railroads or the internet. The term was coined in the early 1940s by economist Joseph Schumpeter, who observed real-life examples of creative destruction, such as Henry Ford’s assembly line.
Creative destruction can be seen across many different sectors, including within the plant breeding and seed sector, with obvious examples including F1-hybrids, genetic modification, gene-editing and more. But it is worth noting that IP frameworks are what allow these disruptive technologies to flourish. Without patents, plant breeders’ rights and, to a lesser extent, other forms of IP, many of these breakthroughs would not have left the laboratory. Creative destruction in agriculture depends on innovation –and innovation depends on intellectual property.
Creative destruction in the plant breeding sector involves innovations that significantly disrupt traditional practices, leading to the decline or transformation of existing methods, products, or industries. Here are some notable examples:
Creative disruption in plant breeding
1. Open-Pollinated Varieties (OPVs) vs. Hybrid Seeds
1. Open-Pollinated Varieties (OPVs) vs. Hybrid Seeds
Before: Farmers primarily used open-pollinated varieties (OPVs), which allowed them to save seeds from one season to plant in the next
Disruption: The development of hybrid seeds starting in the late 19th century and further developed in the early 20th century revolutionized agriculture. Hybrid seeds, created by crossing two different inbred lines, offered significantly higher yields and more uniform crops.
Impact: Farmers switched to hybrid seeds due to the hybrids’ superior performance. The change also made it less attractive for farmers to save seeds, as hybrids do not breed true in subsequent generations. As the superior performance greatly outweighed the cost of annual seed acquisition, farmers accepted this shift, which has fundamentally changed the dynamics of seed production and sales.
2. Conventional Breeding vs. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
2. Conventional Breeding vs. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
Before: Traditional plant breeding methods such as selective breeding and crossbreeding were the primary means of developing new crop varieties.
Disruption: The introduction of GMOs in the 1990s allowed scientists and plant breeders to directly modify the DNA of plants, inserting specific genes to confer desired traits such as pest resistance (e.g., Bt crops) or herbicide tolerance (e.g., Roundup Ready crops).
Impact: GMOs enabled faster and more precise development of crop varieties with enhanced traits, significantly reducing the time and unpredictability associated with conventional breeding. This innovation disrupted traditional breeding practices and led to a significant shift in the agricultural landscape, particularly in major crops like corn, soybeans, and cotton.
3. Traditional Genetic Modification vs. CRISPR and Gene Editing
3. Traditional Genetic Modification vs. CRISPR and Gene Editing
Before: GMOs were developed through the insertion of foreign genes into a plant’s genome, a process that was often met with public resistance and regulatory challenges.
Disruption: The advent of CRISPR-Cas9 and other gene-editing technologies in the 2010s allowed for precise, targeted changes to a plant’s own DNA without the introduction of foreign genes. This technology can quickly develop crops with desired traits, such as disease resistance or improved nutritional content.
Impact: CRISPR has the potential to overshadow traditional genetic modification techniques by being more efficient, less costly, and more acceptable to the public and regulators. This has opened new possibilities for innovation in plant breeding, potentially reducing the dominance of earlier GMO technologies.
4. Phenotypic Selection vs. Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS)
4. Phenotypic Selection vs. Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS)
Before: Traditional plant breeding relied heavily on phenotypic selection, where breeders would select plants based on visible traits, a process that could be slow and sometimes imprecise.
Disruption: Marker-assisted selection (MAS) leverages genetic markers associated with desirable traits, allowing breeders to screen and select plants more efficiently and accurately, even before traits manifest physically.
Impact: MAS has accelerated the breeding process and improved the accuracy of selecting plants with desired traits, leading to the decline of purely phenotypic selection methods. This technology has become a standard in modern plant breeding programs, making traditional methods less competitive.
5. Public Breeding Programs vs. Private Sector Companies
5. Public Breeding Programs vs. Private Sector Companies
Before: Public institutions and universities were the primary sources of new crop varieties, particularly for staple crops like wheat and rice.
Disruption: The rise of private sector seed companies and biotechnology companies, with their advanced research capabilities and significant funding, shifted the focus of innovation to the private sector. These companies developed proprietary technologies, such as GMOs and hybrid seeds.
Impact: While public breeding programs, which were almost universally being impacted by funding reductions by their respective governments, reduced their reach, private companies took the lead in developing new, high-performing plant varieties.
Each of these examples illustrates how innovation in plant breeding can lead to the displacement of older methods, driving the seed sector forward while also creating new challenges and opportunities.
As we look to the future, the challenge will be to harness the power of innovation responsibly, ensuring that we create an environment where the benefits of innovation can be shared widely in ways that empower an ongoing cycle and ultimately improves all of our lives. We must be prepared to adapt to the changes it brings.
That is why intellectual property protection is not just a legal technicality –it is an integral part of this innovation cycle. IP ensures that breeders, farmers, and companies alike can continue to invest, adapt, and reinvent. It transforms moonshot ideas into real-world solutions. In the seed sector, as in all fields, innovation – and the IP systems that support it – will be key to addressing the global challenges of the 21st century, from feeding a growing population to mitigating the impacts of climate change.
