EVALUATING SUGARCANE R&D PERFORMANCE: EVALUATION OF THREE BREEDING PROGRAMS

By  W.L. BURNQUIST (1), K. REDSHAW(2) and R.F. GILMOUR (3, 4)

1 Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira, Piracicaba, Brazil
2 South African Sugarcane Research Institute, Mt Edgecombe, South Africa
3 Formerly BSES Limited, Indooroopilly, Australia
4 Currently E.I. DuPont, Wilmington, USA

william@ctc.com.br

Abstract

RESOURCESfor sugarcane R&D are scarce, as theyare for most agricultural R&D, and
investors in R&D want a return on their investment in the form of productivity and
profitability gains that arise from the adoption of new technologies.
These realities motivate productive and efficient R&D programs that are a key driver
of ongoing productivity improvement in sugarcane industries. Sound technical programs
deliver ongoing industry benefits sustaining industry profitability and underpinning industry
growth.
In the context of these R&D programs, strategic and tactical decisions made during
the management of R&D projects are vitally important with respect to the outcomes delivered
by R&D, and their subsequent uptake by industry.
We illustrate these principles using variety performance data from Australia, Brazil
and South Africa.
Our findings include evidence for rapid uptake of new varieties, significant
improvements in yield of cane per hectare and financial benefits delivered to growers
adopting these improved cane varieties.
Differences existed between the R&D programs in terms of the benefits being
delivered to the respective industries that could be directly connected with particular research
strategies employed. R&D is an investment, not a cost, but it becomes a cost if benefits are
not realised by industry.

KEYWORDS: R&D Performance, Benchmarking,
Technology Valuation, Technology Adoption

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Plenary           Proc. Int. Soc. Sugar Cane Technol., Vol. 27, 2010 
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