Such processes have been successful in the past in drawing attention to potential new crop industries. Unfortunately, relatively short political time spans contrast with the long lead times required to commercialise new crops. An expert in a new crop is often not as effectively equipped with information as those crop experts working with established crops. The learning process needs to be a shared experience between the industry and the so-called expert. Information is usually not available or is difficult to apply to a new set of circumstances without some careful modification.
Serendipity is the discovery of interesting new crops unexpectedly or by accident.
Serendipity plays a large role in the development of new crops, through the recreational interests of inquiring people. Such research receives little or no direct funding but is often carried out by recognised researchers, as well as by gifted amateurs, in their own backyards. The New Crops Project at The University of Queensland Gatton College, has been commissioned by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and the Grains Research and Development Corporation to investigate whether a more satisfactory method can be developed to choose new crops worthy of research and development. The outcome of these investigations has been to propose a systems, or holistic, approach to the problem. To gain some insight into the system which is your new crop enterprise, the system can be imagined as a series of rows and columns.