Public and private research partnerships: The evolving California experience

Californian agriculture has a long and successful history of public-private partnerships. A review of the formation and progression of the California Tomato Research Institute is provided. The major factor driving the evolution of the system has been the change to the basic partnership arising from shifting state interest and reduced farm influence. Challenges include maintaining a "critical mass" of focused researchers as academic institutions increasingly emphasize academic and educational goals. Adaptation is replacing wholesale change as the primary means of improving productivity and achieving environmental goals.