82
the United States but also globally, some of which have become competitive in
research domains such as gene editing and digital agriculture, among others. In
2017 alone, agriculture-related startups raised over $10 billion in venture-backed
funding, and one of them, Indigo, has already reached unicorn
9
status.
4. The limited predictability in the usefulness of the extensive intellectual property
portfolios companies have built over the years for the development of successful
new products. A case in point is that less than 10% of Procter & Gamble’s patents were used by any of its businesses for product development (Sakkab 2002).
While patents can represent an effective trade currency to obtain freedom to
operate (e.g., through cross-licensing) and keep litigation at bay, and if one
excludes the small number of patents which sustain product launch and commercialization, the ability for a patent owner to translate a large number of them
into actual value in the market is, at best, questionable. It is thus likely that making such intellectual property available to other organizations could increase the
odds of deriving tangible value from it.
3.5 Open Innovation
Agriculture and agrifood companies of all sizes are currently beset with increasing
competition and technological complexity, rising R&D costs, shortened product life
cycles, increased expectations from customers, more complex and expensive regulatory processes, and industry consolidation. With improved institutional markets
and stronger intellectual property rights, venture capital and technology standards
have enabled organizations to trade their knowledge and ideas.
The challenge facing the domain of agriculture and agrifood systems is daunting,
with current projections predicting the Earth’s population ballooning to 9.7 billion
by 2050, which is only 30 crop growing cycles away from today in the mid-2020.
Though certain vegetable crops sustain more than one growing cycle per year, and
while the climate in some countries such as Brazil and Paraguay also allows a second growing cycle of main crops each year (safrinha), by and large, the global commodities (maize, rice, soybeans, wheat) are only harvested once a year.
To place this challenging problem in context, humankind is going to have to
produce as much food over the next 30 years as during the previous 10,000 years,
with the added complexity of a reduction in available land per capita; the unpredictability brought about by climate change; an increasing concern by the public about
the way crops and food are being produced, packaged, distributed, and commercialized; and the unsustainable fact that a large proportion of the food produced is
being wasted.
9 A privately held startup company with a current valuation of at least US$1 billion is referred to as
a unicorn.
M. L. Müller and H. Campos
the United States but also globally, some of which have become competitive in
research domains such as gene editing and digital agriculture, among others. In
2017 alone, agriculture-related startups raised over $10 billion in venture-backed
funding, and one of them, Indigo, has already reached unicorn
9
status.
4. The limited predictability in the usefulness of the extensive intellectual property
portfolios companies have built over the years for the development of successful
new products. A case in point is that less than 10% of Procter & Gamble’s patents were used by any of its businesses for product development (Sakkab 2002).
While patents can represent an effective trade currency to obtain freedom to
operate (e.g., through cross-licensing) and keep litigation at bay, and if one
excludes the small number of patents which sustain product launch and commercialization, the ability for a patent owner to translate a large number of them
into actual value in the market is, at best, questionable. It is thus likely that making such intellectual property available to other organizations could increase the
odds of deriving tangible value from it.
3.5 Open Innovation
Agriculture and agrifood companies of all sizes are currently beset with increasing
competition and technological complexity, rising R&D costs, shortened product life
cycles, increased expectations from customers, more complex and expensive regulatory processes, and industry consolidation. With improved institutional markets
and stronger intellectual property rights, venture capital and technology standards
have enabled organizations to trade their knowledge and ideas.
The challenge facing the domain of agriculture and agrifood systems is daunting,
with current projections predicting the Earth’s population ballooning to 9.7 billion
by 2050, which is only 30 crop growing cycles away from today in the mid-2020.
Though certain vegetable crops sustain more than one growing cycle per year, and
while the climate in some countries such as Brazil and Paraguay also allows a second growing cycle of main crops each year (safrinha), by and large, the global commodities (maize, rice, soybeans, wheat) are only harvested once a year.
To place this challenging problem in context, humankind is going to have to
produce as much food over the next 30 years as during the previous 10,000 years,
with the added complexity of a reduction in available land per capita; the unpredictability brought about by climate change; an increasing concern by the public about
the way crops and food are being produced, packaged, distributed, and commercialized; and the unsustainable fact that a large proportion of the food produced is
being wasted.
9 A privately held startup company with a current valuation of at least US$1 billion is referred to as
a unicorn.
M. L. Müller and H. Campos