Assessing the Economic Potential of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): An Ex-ante Cost-Benefit Analysis for Agricultural R&D in Southern Philippines

Abstract

With the growing emphasis on reducing costs within the government, it is increasingly important for public research institutions to adopt more cost effective approaches for the provision of public services, while at the same time aiming to enhance the use of innovations and research outputs to reduce poverty and improve the livelihoods of more people. Public-private partnerships in agricultural R&D have been recognized as an effective method to address these issues. This paper has examined the cost and benefits of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in agricultural research and development. With the assumptions on the benefits of PPP based on literatures and case studies reviewed, the results of the cost-benefits analysis suggest positively higher returns to the investment in collaborative research (With PPP) when compared with non-collaborative research (Without PPP). The technology adoption scenarios have also shown that the estimates of the increase of adoption rates and the earlier adoption expectation are highly relevant and significant for getting a higher return on the investment. The analysis concludes that the inclusion of the private sector in public research and development initiatives in agricultural R&D can generate higher welfare benefits that have the potential to provide positive net benefits and bigger impact for the agencies working in the research partnerships.