75
3.3 Collaborations
3.3.1 International Organizations
Innovations derived from collaborations have shaped the agricultural landscape
since the dawn of times. While passionate scientists, in academia or in the private
sector, often collaborated to advance their research (see Thomas Fairchild, who
documented the first hybrid crops), so did seed companies and equipment manufacturers. In some instances, collaborations between individuals allowed the most significant progress; in others it was collaboration between institutions. Serendipity
often played a role. For example, consider the remarkable story of John Washington
Carver, who was born into slavery and became one of the most influential agricultural scientists of his time. It is certainly his friendship with young Henry A. Wallace
that influenced the latter to experiment with cultivars of maize and later to bring
hybrid maize lines to Midwest farmers through the Hi-Bred Corn Company,
2
which
he founded. Upon visiting Mexico as the newly minted US vice president under
Franklin Roosevelt’s administration, Henry A. Wallace discovered that, while maize
was an essential staple in Mexico, the yields obtained by local farmers were far
below those achieved in the United States. This recognition and his passion for
increasing the yields of crops to feed the world encouraged Wallace, with support of
the Rockefeller Foundation, to help set up an experimental station in Mexico, which
would encourage collaboration between local farmers and US scientists. Norman
Borlaug was one of the first scientists to join the station as a plant pathologist,
together with soil scientist William E. Colwell and potato breeder John Niederhauser.
The three are largely credited for being at the origin of the green revolution for
which Norman Borlaug eventually earned his Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. In the
middle of the twentieth century, rapid population growth triggered fears of widespread global famine. The Mexican government had established the Office of
Special Studies (OSS) to coordinate the program initiated by the Rockefeller
Foundation. This in turn laid the groundworks for the establishment and support of
the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in 1960 and the International Maize
and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in 1963. In 1970, the Rockefeller
Foundation proposed a broader coalition to support an international network of
agricultural research centers and, with the help of the World Bank, the FAO, and
UNDP, established the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR) to reduce poverty and achieve food security in developing countries.
Today, the CGIAR comprises 15 independent nonprofit research centers (Table 3.2),
conducting innovative research and collaborating on a global scale.
2 Which later became Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., and is now part of Corteva Agriscience.
3 Open Innovation and Value Creation in Crop Genetics
3.3 Collaborations
3.3.1 International Organizations
Innovations derived from collaborations have shaped the agricultural landscape
since the dawn of times. While passionate scientists, in academia or in the private
sector, often collaborated to advance their research (see Thomas Fairchild, who
documented the first hybrid crops), so did seed companies and equipment manufacturers. In some instances, collaborations between individuals allowed the most significant progress; in others it was collaboration between institutions. Serendipity
often played a role. For example, consider the remarkable story of John Washington
Carver, who was born into slavery and became one of the most influential agricultural scientists of his time. It is certainly his friendship with young Henry A. Wallace
that influenced the latter to experiment with cultivars of maize and later to bring
hybrid maize lines to Midwest farmers through the Hi-Bred Corn Company,
2
which
he founded. Upon visiting Mexico as the newly minted US vice president under
Franklin Roosevelt’s administration, Henry A. Wallace discovered that, while maize
was an essential staple in Mexico, the yields obtained by local farmers were far
below those achieved in the United States. This recognition and his passion for
increasing the yields of crops to feed the world encouraged Wallace, with support of
the Rockefeller Foundation, to help set up an experimental station in Mexico, which
would encourage collaboration between local farmers and US scientists. Norman
Borlaug was one of the first scientists to join the station as a plant pathologist,
together with soil scientist William E. Colwell and potato breeder John Niederhauser.
The three are largely credited for being at the origin of the green revolution for
which Norman Borlaug eventually earned his Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. In the
middle of the twentieth century, rapid population growth triggered fears of widespread global famine. The Mexican government had established the Office of
Special Studies (OSS) to coordinate the program initiated by the Rockefeller
Foundation. This in turn laid the groundworks for the establishment and support of
the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in 1960 and the International Maize
and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in 1963. In 1970, the Rockefeller
Foundation proposed a broader coalition to support an international network of
agricultural research centers and, with the help of the World Bank, the FAO, and
UNDP, established the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR) to reduce poverty and achieve food security in developing countries.
Today, the CGIAR comprises 15 independent nonprofit research centers (Table 3.2),
conducting innovative research and collaborating on a global scale.
2 Which later became Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., and is now part of Corteva Agriscience.
3 Open Innovation and Value Creation in Crop Genetics