Question

In what way can “basic research in agriculture” be regarded as a public good

Answer 1

Scientific knowledge in its pure form is a classic public good. It is a keystone for innovation, and in its more applied forms is a basic component of our economy. Although recent technical advances have stimulated its generation and greatly accelerated its spread, other forces may limit its public-domain characteristics.

The public goods characteristic of ideas and knowledge has long been noted, first by St. Augustine, sometime between 391 and 426 (Wills, 1999), and then by Thomas Jefferson, in 1813 in a frequently cited letter on patents (1984).3 Their views were carried further by Powell in 1886 when he stated: “The learning of one man does not subtract from the learning of another, as if there were to be a limited quantity to be divided into exclusive holdings.

As happens so often in policy, publicly funded agricultural research has lost much of its mandate to instigate large-scale public benefit in favor of organizations and corporations with specific economic interests. The lobby that promotes innovative cropping systems and management practices, which are generally not patentable and have diffused beneficiaries, is small. The lobby that promotes research into the latest corn pest, for example, or seeks to maintain funding for a local agricultural research center, or seeks research into processing crops for the latest health fad (fat-free, low-carb, etc.) is large. The Farm Bill is our once-every-five-year opportunity to remind Congress that public agricultural research funding needs to revive its focus on the public.

Public agricultural research is in a time of transition, with the benefits of some recent changes clouded by some long-term challenges. Congress categorizes agricultural research according to three types: basic, applied and developmental. Historically, basic agricultural research uncovers some fundamental scientific principle, whereas applied research seeks to produce specific technologies or solve particular questions, while developmental research concerns the adaptation of applied research directly to real-world scenarios.