2012, Volume 20, Paper 4
ISSN: 1883-5675

Assessing the economic impact of some dairy processing research projects

John Mullen – Adjunct Professor, Charles Sturt University
Ian Gould – CSIRO Division of Food and Nutrition Sciences
Geoff Ball – CSIRO Division of Food and Nutrition Sciences
Louise Bennett – CSIRO Division of Food and Nutrition Sciences

Abstract

Three dairy processing technologies arising from the strategic research portfolio of a public food science research institution were assessed for their economic, and their environmental and social impacts using approaches routinely applied to agricultural research. Significant challenges, particularly with respect to the availability of data on prices and quantities and cost savings for highly differentiated products in a commercially sensitive environment, meant that impact assessment was largely qualitative. It seems most probable that these three technologies have returned several times the research investment in them as well as gains in social capital in the form of scientific understanding and capacity and gains in environmental and human health outcomes. Three case studies are too small a sample to confidently infer a positive return to the total strategic research portfolio in food science but if other applications of technology arising from it were equally profitable then this is likely to be the case. While research and development to support commercial applications
should have a large component of industry and company funding, there is likely to be underinvestment in strategic food science research unless there is a substantial component of public funding because it has public good characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability.

Download full document here