ICAR Initiatives for Technology Commercialization and Agri-business Development

May 23, 2011 S MAURIA

Assistant Director General(Intellectual Property and Technology Management)

Indian Council of Agricultural Research

ICAR-CII Industry Meet 2011

The Policy Framework and Initiative from ICAR

IP Management System

ZTMC/Zonal Institute

ZITMC

BPD from NAIP/ICARATMC/

ICAR HQ/CTMC

ZTM&BPD/Zonal Institute

ITMU/ITMCITMU/ITMC

• Programs on capacity building in IP and technology management

• Streamlining of intellectual assets - patents, plant varieties, know-how, others.

• Approach towards Business Planning and Development (BPD)

• Industry Meets – At central, zonal and institute levels – both “General’ and ‘Commodity’ - specific

• Planning for National Agriculture ‘Education’ and ‘Entrepreneurship’ Projects Ultimately, our critical reviews and on-course corrections

for building an accountability-driven culture

Our New Directions

Assessment of ITMUs and ZTM&BPD Units

• Technologies licensed/commercialized

• People, institutions and companies benefited

• Business ventures materialized (including commercial companies, small scale entrepreneurs, other co-business incubatees, individual innovators)

• Role in generation of direct employment

• Resource generation

• Social impact of the technologiesand so on …

Overall Progress in IP&TM Activities

• A steady improvement in IPR activity in ICAR• 2001: Only 11 ICAR Institutes filing 34 applications

(33 patents and 1 trademark)• 2011: 1292 IPR applications from 47 Institutes

{474 patents (60 granted), 787 plant varieties (694-Ex, 93-N, 188-Ex granted) 14 trademarks, 17 software copyrights}

• Commercialization through licensing - Picking Up• IP watch - Has started in a small wayThere has been progress in terms of both number of

intellectual property titles granted, and the number of ICAR institutes actively engaged in the IP&TM activities.

Nevertheless, much more is envisaged to be done as this is just the beginning.

ICAR-Industry Meet 2010

Specific objective: Develop a permanent platform for industry to effectively and efficiently share knowledge, skills and resources available in the ICAR system. Themes:Seed, planting material and plant biotechnological products

Diagnostics, vaccines and other animal biotechnological products

Farm implements and machinery

Post-harvest and value-addition Recommendations: From Research to Development – Interest of private sector was quite visible; discussed specifics/general; emphasized linking old/new sciences, business, peace, and gross happiness.

ICAR-Industry Meet 2010- Action Points

1. ICAR-Industry Meet as Annual event in New Delhi; plus Meets in Institutes, SAUs and KVKs; Commodity/Region-specific Meets

2. Directory of Agri-entrepreneurs; also to be resourced from FICCI /ASSOCHAM / CII / Others

3. Database development on profiles of important agro-companies for drawing resource persons on ICAR Committees

4. Arranging annual road shows with different groups of companies

5. Efforts for ICAR-Industry consortium for Africa agriculture initiative, plus with other potential developing, less developed and other countries

ICAR-Industry Meet 2010- Action Points

6. Enhancement of ICT services in a PPP mode7. Students’ secondment to industry for hands-on

training/project work 8. Initiating new agri-entrepreneurship awards

from ICAR 9. Formation of a corporate platform in ICAR for a

single window mechanism, and establishment of technology parks and incubators

10.Formulation of a National Agricultural Entrepreneurship Project in consultation with the industries, associations and chambers of commerce

ICAR-Industry Meet 2010- Action Points

11. Inviting industry support for creation of professorial chairs in the NARS with specific objectives of research, education and development; efforts for capacity building for vocational education to address the burgeoning unemployment

12. Creation of working groups in frontier areas of basic and strategic research, including development of joint platforms for translational research and other development requirements

13. Participation of industry partners in annual Vice Chancellors’ Conference for curriculum and other educational reforms

14. Joint initiative to address the important post-harvest technology interventions in food-chain management

15. Addressing the issues of cost and efficiency for testing and adaptive research for higher success rate in commercialization of technologies in different sectors

Areas of Partnerships with IndustryKnowledge Transfer Mechanisms • Publications & Presentations• Problem-solving

Consultancy • Professional Development

Programs• Contract Research • Joint Technology

Development Programs • Sponsored Research

Programs• Feasibility Studies

Technology Commercialization• Better varieties and parental

lines in crops, horticulture, etc• Growth promoters and

protection products (e.g. micronutrient formulations, bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, and pest management)

• Farm implements and machinery• Diagnostics, vaccines, improved

breeds, and other products • Other veterinary, dairy and

fishery technologies • Post harvest processing and

value addition

Both Top-down and Bottom-up Approaches

- Institutionalizing a permanent platform

Protection and management of intellectual properties generated – its commercialization/ distribution for public benefit.

Production, marketing and popularization of ICAR’s products, processes and technologies.

Professional extension of skilled services from ICAR, such as consultancies, contract research, contract service, customized capacity building, etc.

Setting up research and production farms outside India, especially in Africa and in the Asia-Pacific region.

Providing technical support for turnkey projects on production and processing plants in different sectors, viz. agriculture, horticulture, dairy and animal husbandry, fisheries, agriculture engineering, etc.

Public-private partnerships in research, education, and other capacity building in agriculture and allied sectors.

Activities to integrate proficiencies in agriculture sciences with management, such as market intelligence, pricing and valuation issues, to nurture demand-driven research

Partnership Requirements for Better Indian Agriculture

Inputs Fertilizer (Trade, Regulation, Information on Best Practices)

Seeds and other inputs (Research, Supply, Regulation)

Research Pre-technology Prototype technology Usable technology

Extension (includes Services) - Broadly applicable, highly specific

-Crop/Livestock Management Services (Curative, Preventive, Promotive)

Financial Services (Rural credit) – Credit supplyProduce Marketing Services - Food crops, cash

crops

Other areas less easily defined but critical for partnerships and to rural people

Agricultural livelihood optionsManagement of natural resources and environment

(e.g. conservation of genetic diversity, soil fertility…)

Non-agricultural livelihood optionsOff-farm employment(e.g. agro-based industry, agri-tourism…)

Thank You

<smauria.icar@nic.in>