Report of the First Meeting of the CGIAR Private Sector Committee

Report of the inaugural meeting of the CGIAR Private Sector Committee, held in Washington, DC on December 8, 1995 and co-chaired by Andreas Büchting and Alejandro Rodriguez Graue. Christian Bonte-Friedheim presented a center perspective on CGIAR relations with the private sector. He described the scope for collaboration and a p[possible division of labor. Sam Dryden reviewed the private sector perspective, and the part played by biotechnology in expanding the role of the private sector in international agricultural research.The Committee decided to establish working groups devoted to 1) biotechnology, 2) intellectual property rights, genetic resources and biodiversity policy, 3) mechanisms of interaction between the CGIAR, the private sector, and national agricultural research systems, and 4) center practices in research and research management as compared to private sector practices.