Agricultural productivity is important for improving nutrition, achieving food security, and ending hunger. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international agricultural research centre dedicated to abolishing poverty and hunger among people and populations that depend on rice-based agri-food systems. IRRI is one of the 15 research centres that form the CGIAR. In this interview, Dr. Remy Bitoun head of IRRI Tech Transfer, speaks to Flora IP about the role of IRRI technology transfer and the relationship between intellectual property rights and food security. Dr. Bitoun has over 25 years of experience in international agricultural research, strategy, and development.
Flora IP (FI): IRRI focuses on populations that depend on rice-based agri-food systems. What is the importance of innovation in rice to food security?
Dr. Remy Bitoun (RB): Innovation in rice for food security is at the centre of everything that IRRI does. IRRI, which will soon celebrate its 60th anniversary, is one of the CGIAR centres that participated in the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution brought innovation that had a huge impact on the livelihood of farmers and populations that rely on rice. IRRI develops innovations that help solve two kinds of problems. The first is the sustainability of rice growing: making sure that tomorrow there will be enough farmers that engage in rice production. The other concerns rice food security: making sure there is enough rice tomorrow as there is today and taking into account that rice is central to food security. If you solve the problem of rice food security, you have solved about 80 percent of the global problem of food security.
FI: Would you say that a high number of food insecure people depend on rice as a staple?
RB: Absolutely. Accordingly, we need research to deliver real positive impact to the people that need it. For example, as one of the leaders in rice breeding, IRRI makes sure new rice varieties are not only more productive, (giving more yield per hectare) but also more nutritious (for instance, enriched in zinc and iron). It is not just about quantity but also quality so that the needs of the population are well covered.
FI: Could you please explain the role of the technology transfer office at IRRI and how this contributes to achieving the mission of supporting rice farmers in the developing world?
RB: IRRI is an international agricultural research for the development of public institutions. Most of our partnerships are with the public sector. We work with National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) partners. For example, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).
Public sector partnership is the main channel for IRRI to disseminate its innovation. In addition, IRRI made the decision to leverage the private sector when appropriate, to deliver Impact Acceleration. This involves translating innovation from IRRI into products available to our stakeholders who need the innovation – mainly the rice farmers. We recognise that the private sector has a role to play, and therefore we engage positively with the private sector, to the extent that it can contribute positively to our mission.
FI: Does IRRI have a spin-off company to achieve this Impact Acceleration?
RB: No, we do not, however, we have Public Private Partnership consortia led by IRRI, which private sector partners can join, along with public sector partners. For example, the Hybrid Rice Development Consortium (HRDC) is a well-known public-private consortium. We also have several kinds of bilateral agreements with private companies. The two main kinds are Sponsored Research Agreements and Licensing Agreements. Through a sponsored research agreement, the partner pays for IRRI to perform research that is relevant to the partner and relevant to IRRI’s mission. Licensing agreements are used where IRRI has developed a new product and the private partner is interested in accessing this asset. IRRI can license assets to both public and private sector partners but the terms of the license would differ for each sector. For instance, whatever we develop is shared free of charge to public partners, as per our mission, however, when we license an IRRI owned asset to a private partner, it may not be free of charge. This is where intellectual property (IP) management is essential, because it allows us to align expectations with the private partner. IP is an important leverage in most discussions with the private sector.
FI: You mentioned that IP is a leverage. How is IP approached in the course of your work?
RB: IP is part of our world whether or not we want it. Some key technology that we may use for our research is protected, so we need to be involved in IP management. Better still, we can be proactive in IP management, for the benefit of our stakeholders. IP at IRRI is not managed the same way as in private companies, because our agenda is to maximize impact acceleration. we recognise the value of IP management. While we respect the IP of others, we also expect our private sector partners to recognize the value of IRRI’s IP.
We start with mapping our IP, so that we know what we have. We ensure that valuable IP can be protected and properly managed. We take steps to protect our IP and to have our IP recognised. We file for patents, in a way that is fully compliant with our commitments to stakeholders, including with respect to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Plant Treaty) and with respect to Farmers’ rights.
FI: When you file for patents and take other forms of IP protection as a leverage for dealing with the private sector, does this have an impact on the beneficiaries of your research in terms of access and costs?
RB: It has a positive impact. All the genetic material we use is what we call “SMTA material” or “Treaty material.” This refers to the Plant Treaty. Whenever we share genetic material with 3rd parties, we ensure we share with it through a Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA). The Governing Body of the Plant Treaty ensures that all CGIAR centres are compliant with the Treaty and the SMTA. Firstly, genetic resources we provide to the private sector, are under an SMTA, so the partner is bound by the SMTA. Secondly, when we license a variety derived from SMTA material, we activate the benefit-sharing provisions of the Plant Treaty, even in cases where the Plant Treaty does not request activation of this provision. To the best of my knowledge, IRRI was the first CGIAR centre to enter into a licensing agreement that triggers the benefit-sharing provisions. Another positive impact that I would like to stress is that IRRI provides high-value genetic material such as varieties to small and medium private companies that will disseminate the same high-value material, with a commitment in terms of seed quality and affordability.
FI: You have described IRRI’s role in relation to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and compliance steps. What other policies or instruments affect the processes used by IRRI Tech Transfer?
RB: IRRI has a number of commitments to various stakeholders. These include the commitment to the Plant Treaty (and the SMTA), commitments to our donors, to the CGIAR; and to our NARES partners. Consequently, we make sure we are fully compliant with our commitments in all our IP management and technology transfer activity. We have introduced additional commitments, such as IRRI’s Intellectual Property and Commercialisation Policy. This policy is fully compliant with the CGIAR Policy on the Management of Intellectual Assets, but we have included additional commitments towards working for impact acceleration, and transparency. For example, each time a patent application is filed, the information is published on our website, to keep our stakeholders informed.
FI: Private sector organisations are usually profit oriented and IRRI is a not-for-profit organisation. How do you engage these private sector organisations? What benefits do you bring to them and how do these collaborations benefit the farmers and consumers that IRRI is working to help?
RB: Private companies have their own dynamics around products and services, markets, growth, and profitability. In contrast, we are focused on science-based solutions, impact, and not-for-profit activities. In essence, we come from different universes and the first thing we need to do is to recognize that. However, we also recognise that we can align expectations and build synergies and partnerships that will assist IRRI to fulfil its mission. The first key point is that we carefully select our partners and the projects we undertake together, which need to be well aligned with our mission. Before we engage with a private sector partner, we do our due diligence and we check if the private sector partner is reputable and if their activities are compatible with our vision. If it is not compatible, we decline the opportunity. If it is compatible, then we negotiate an agreement that serves the purpose of IRRI.
Investing in IP management allows IRRI to control the way private companies use our input, and to request revenue sharing with private partners when appropriate. In compliance with our Intellectual Property and Commercialisation Policy, assets IRRI shares with the public sector are free of charge, as per our vision. IP management allows to modulate terms and conditions when negotiating with a private partner.
FI: Could you please give an example of a successful private sector partnership?
RB: Private sector partners come to IRRI because we are second to none in terms of providing science-based solutions that can be translated into high-value products. Seed companies active in hybrid rice want to join the Hybrid Rice Development Consortium. We provide germplasm and new hybrid varieties. For licenses to private members, we request royalty, and this revenue helps finance IRRI’s research for hybrid rice; thus it is a virtuous circle. The royalty received by IRRI is also shared with the Plant Treaty. Consequently, due to the royalty stream, we want to contribute not only to IRRI’s research and development effort but also to the economic sustainability of the Plant Treaty.
Another example is our partnership with Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI). About 5 years ago, we signed an agreement with ACI, a private company from Bangladesh and with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The objective of the agreement was to help ACI develop their own rice breeding and rice seed production in Bangladesh for the benefit of farmers in Bangladesh. This agreement involved massive technology transfer from IRRI to ACI. It is a non-exclusive arrangement, so the same transfer of technology from IRRI can still benefit another stakeholder. With the help of USAID, IRRI scientists advised ACI, provided germplasm and helped recruit breeders. We recently had a milestone assessment meeting involving USAID, ACI, and IRRI and we were happy to learn that ACI is releasing their first commercial varieties. This success story is still developing, and we look forward to developing more with ACI and other stakeholders in Bangladesh.
FI: You mentioned that your focus is on impact. For organisations such as research institutes or universities that are interested in maximizing their research impact, what kind of skills are needed in a technology transfer office?
RB: First, you want to understand the activity and the language of IRRI scientists in order to partner with them. For this, you need a background in plant science, especially in plant genetics and breeding. You do not need to be a specialist in plant genetics, but you do need to understand the input you receive from scientists. Second, an education in IP management is useful, to understand concepts such as what innovation can be patented, what is a trademark or copyright, what is Freedom-To-Operate and other key terms. It is necessary since you are to manage the intellectual assets of your organization. Additionally, if you are engaging with the private sector, you need negotiation skills and a good understanding of what value the partner can bring to you, and what the organisation should receive in return from your institution. For instance, to document impact acceleration, we ask the company to report on the use of what we license, so in our licensing agreements we have terms and conditions requiring reports on how many farmers were impacted. In some of our agreements, the private company commits to pay for an independent third party specialist to measure impact. When you have ownership of the IP, you can request that the product will be made available to smallholder farmers. We have a say on the price and quality of seeds.
FI: Would you like to add final thoughts about IRRI, technology transfer, IP, innovation, and food security?
RB: We are now in a world that needs smart innovation. Not all innovation is created equal. We are facing quite a number of challenges, some linked to the COVID-19 crisis and some linked to global warming and water scarcity. We need climate-smart varieties that will be more robust so that farmers will reap the harvest even though the climatic conditions may be challenging. The CGIAR is uniquely positioned to ensure that smart innovation is channeled in a very efficient way. Units like IRRI tech transfer contribute to reducing our “time to impact”, by accelerating technology transfer. We try to answer questions such as: How can we reduce the time to positive impact for the farmers, and is there is a role for the private sector in this? How can we leverage the positive role of the private sector for the benefit of the end-users?
For more on IRRI, see here.
