An economic assessment of rice breeding in New South Wales

Abstract

An economic assessment is made of the rice-breeding program at Yanco, New South Wales. The achievements of the breeding program over the past 30 years are identified and quantified. The economic assessment considers current investment in the breeding program and analyses the likelihood of the program achieving sufficient gains through breeding to justify that investment on economic grounds. We estimate the rate of improvement in yield and quality that would give the required increase in the industry's value of production. Based on the contribution of new varieties to past gains, the future gains needed through breeding to accomplish satisfactory economic returns are achievable. However, the analysis highlights the need for focused breeding efforts to maximise the returns from the breeding program.