It also includes research on ameliorating the negative environmental effects of agriculture. This is not to say that private research is unimportant or unnecessary. Without private investment, overall investment in agricultural research would be much lower, especially in developed countries. Also, private firms tend to focus on aspects of commercial agriculture such as chemical and mechanical inputs, as well as food processing and other postharvest research. So it is important that public investment in agricultural research not crowd out private investment, but rather let private agencies conduct the kind of research they do best.
Government also has a role in agricultural research beyond investment.
One of its most important tasks is the establishment of intellectual property rights over the results of agricultural research. All countries who signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade have pledged to put in place such property rights by 2005. Such rights will make it possible to appropriate more of the benefits of research, thus encouraging more private participation. Another role for government is to make institutional innovations that will encourage public-private partnerships not only in performing agricultural research, but also in funding and managing it. Already, public and private agencies are jointly funding applied research, public agricultural research institutions are being privatized, and competition among researchers is being introduced to increase productivity and help allocate research resources.