Commercialization
Commercialization encompasses the creation of intellectual property coupled with the development of entrepreneurship skills. Commercialization begins with conception of an idea all the way to production and sale of goods and services to end users (Perkmann et al., 2013). It involves knowledge which is a key driver for economic growth and it involves high investment in education, training, research and development (R&D), as well as interrelationships between governments, academia, and industry (Lowe, 2005). To realize the benefits of knowledge and to receive returns from such investments, the resulting inventions and/or innovations must be commercialized (Meyers, 2009).
Successful commercialization of research products and processes is never a straightforward process, it is coming with numerous challenges that must be overcome. The main difficulties of commercialization are marketing, resources, the business environment, and the planning and management of the commercialization process. The marketing challenges relate to a failure to obtain relevant market information, a failure to use it properly, insufficient knowledge about how the market works and the inability to establish local and international distributions channels.
A number of private seed companies in Nigeria partner with relevant research institutes for development of crop varieties. Gawal, a private seed company partner with NCRI to developed and a released rice variety called Gawal 1. Similarly, IAR partner with private seed company, Amana seed limited to developed and released two maize varieties known as Amana 1 and Amana 2. Similarly, to promote an efficient seed system and agricultural mechanization in Africa, the AATF has established three (3) main companies, namely; Quali-Basics, Eco-Basics and Agridrive.
THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE
The processes of agricultural technology development go through different stages. This include conceptualization with a wide range of stakeholders; research development and quality control with relevant partners such as NABDA and AATF; regulatory procedures and processes involving National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) and National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB); and then the National Agricultural Seed Council, Seed Companies and other off-takers, in the case of varietal development and seed production.
Each stage of the technology development is faced with its challenges. One of such challenges is the non-sustainability of the annual budgetary provision to public research and development. On many occasions, the research institutions depend on funding from partners to drive their efforts. In most cases, the research works stop as soon as the counterpart funding stops. This therefore calls for the establishment of relevant frameworks for addressing the challenges.
In Nigeria, one of such frameworks is the provisions in the ARCN (Amendment) Act 2021 for the incorporation of spin-off companies by Research Institutes as a platform for commercialization, privatization and marketing of technology discoveries and products developed by the institutions. The law also stated that the discoveries shall have Intellectual property rights attached to them as provided and protected under the relevant laws in the country. These legal provisions are expected to result in a paradigm shift from the welfare focus of agricultural research in this part of the world while creating increasing opportunities for commerce.
However, it is critical to draw relevant lessons from both previous successful and unsuccessful-attempts at commercialization by the public sector. The Plant Breeders’ Right Act are additional legal frameworks with potentials to enable commercialization of research products, if well harnessed. There is also regular reviews of laws and guidelines to keep pace with prevailing realities.
Another legal framework is the establishment of the National Agricultural Development Fund, which has just been signed into law by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is expected to remove some of the bottlenecks of funding research through mainly annual budgetary provisions.
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Yet another policy framework is the increasing drive to re-orient agricultural activities in the country towards agri-business. However, the agricultural research institutions cannot effectively drive the process by depending on obsolete equipment. Furthermore, the adoption of responsible agricultural biotechnology is essential to developing cutting edge agricultural research products for commercialization.
Another factor that enabled commercialization of research technology is the harmonization of Africa sub regional and regional laws. The West Africa seed progarmme and WAAPP facilitated harmonization of ECOWAS seed laws between 2013 to 2017. The laws governing variety development and release, seed production and certification, as well as seed import and export were harmonized. This allowed free trade in seeds and planting materials across the ECOWAS sub-region since then thereby leading to increased return on investments in the sector.
As part of efforts to get accurate information about agricultural innovations to end-users, the ARCN has adopted two main strategies, namely; creation of an agriculture media outfit (ARCN TV and Radio); and establishment of agricultural research outreach centers, where agricultural innovations are demonstrated and information passed across to end-users. These can also be tools for countering negative propaganda about agricultural information to end-users.
The adoption of the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by the Heads of States of the African Union, in March 2018, marked a significant step towards tackling the perennial challenges and barriers that have inhibited intra-Africa trade for decades. As at end April 2022, 54 African countries had signed the AfCFTA agreement, and forty-three (43) countries had ratified it.
AfCFTA provides a unique opportunity for member countries to increase regional trade by up to 50%, through customs co-operation, harmonization of standards and tracking of non-tariff barriers, the agreement will facilitate more trade transactions while reducing cost and promote rules-based trade through cooperation on investment, intellectual property rights, competition policy and digital economy.
Nigeria AfCFTA Implementation Strategy sets forth plan is premised on MDAs, industry associations and businesses taking ownership for interventions within the mandate of their organizations. It also recognises the often-complex web of interfaces among MDAs that must be carefully but purposely navigated to drive the interventions to completion to achieve the required outcomes. The Nigeria AfCFTA Implementation Strategy builds on the Nigeria’s current National Development Plan (NDP, 2021-2025), which expressed Nigeria’s longer-term vision of becoming a sustainable, holistic, and inclusive developed country that promotes accelerated multi-sectoral growth and development as well as reduces poverty and income inequality. One of the emphases in the current National Development Plan is the integration of PPPs into public projects.
Therefore, integrating PPP transactions into the implementation of these provisions of the Act is expected to attract more private sector investments in agricultural research and bring more benefits to the end-users. Indeed, the Nigerian National Development Plan (2021-2025) emphasizes the use of PPP arrangements in the implementation of public activities, particularly, in the research sector.
6.0 Conclusion
While PPP offers a framework for collaborations and sharing of roles in technology development, Research and Development Sector needs appropriate knowledge and skills-set to navigate the complexities associated with it. Research and Development require survey of customer needs because new product development based on research and development must be is based on business principles to be able to drive commercial benefits for both parties. With a growing trend towards agricultural sustainability, researchers must look at creating novel products, services and value chain solutions for agriculture. This trend support policies and practices necessary to increase food production and sustain our environment.
This was delivered by Prof. Garuba Sharubutu, Executive Secretary, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria.
