Economic issues and perspectives on innovation in new resistant grapevine varieties

This work focuses on the assessment of the development perspectives of the new grape varieties, resistant to fungal diseases, promoting therefore the reduction or the suppression of phytosanitary treatments. Based on a direct survey with researchers, stakeholders, a synthesis of the scientific literature and edited research programs, we propose an overview of the current state of the art of the supply of technology, and a presentation of the main stakeholders strategy involved in the innovation chain, a synthesis of the current scientific and technical controversies, and an analysis of the undertaking of the institutions and of the legislation. Further, we provide an evaluation of the previous research program on new grape varieties of the French National Institute for Research in Agronomy (INRA) and the results of the diffusion achieved in Languedoc-Roussillon. This analysis will allow us to discuss the conditions for the success of this innovation as a competitiveness factor. Obtaining a new grape variety is a long term process that can last up to 20 or 30 years. According to the evolutionary approach (Nelson and Winter, 1982), it is the technological paradigm of the research programs intending to improve the proprieties of the plant that defines the technological trajectory. In relation with this delay for the obtaining new grape varieties, the success of the diffusion of the new varieties faces three main difficulties: (1) Professionals need to agree on the relevance of the paradigm, In other words on the characteristics of the research program; (2) A gap appears between the characteristics of new varieties proposed for diffusion and the new perception of the needs of those professionals or their market, broadly different 25 years later, and (3) the rhythm of the diffusion of these innovations, approximately 2.5%/year, related to the life-cycle of the vine plant. In France, the awareness of obtaining grape varieties resistant to diseases emerged quite late, except in the case of the work of one research director from INRA, starting the improvement of the varieties in that direction in the 1980s. His work was merely recently resumed. Since World War II, those working in Europe on the new grape varieties have been mainly public researchers. However, the contractual relationships with stakeholders in charge of spreading those varieties – the nurseries -vary considerably according to the countries, the size and the strategy of the grape nurseries. The issues related to licenses and royalties are an essential matter. The industry is therefore characterized by the presence of various resistant grape varieties created in several countries in Europe by researchers or grape nurseries. In each country where the new varieties were created, new varieties were registered in every national catalogue, but registration of those foreign varieties were not, until today, extended to the French national catalogue. Therefore, it excludes those varieties from potential CAP subsidies. Some innovative grape growers anticipated the social demand and adopted those resistant varieties without the support of public subsidies. In addition, those grape growers processed the grapes and established a label to highlight this environmental advantage. A scientific controversy adds to the environmental and social issues, which deals with the ‘stability of the resistance’ over time. In short, the first varieties obtained featured a ‘monogenic’ resistance, considered by some researchers as easily circumvented. These researchers block or try to slow down the availability of new resistant varieties, waiting for the registration at the French national catalogue of a ‘new wave’ of grape varieties whose resistance would be ‘polygenic’. This scientific controversy creates uncertainty for public officers and a standby position criticized by those wishing a faster diffusion of those innovations in the wine chain. Further, the wine production in Europe is traditionally characterized by quality designations of origin - PGI and PDO – which base their reputation on the main traditional grape varieties and therefore exclude new grape varieties. In France, those quality designations account for approximately 85 percent of the wine production and create most of the value in the wine chain. This exclusion inhibits significant extension. Finally, the issues allowing the rapid diffusion of resistant grape varieties excluding pesticides might include: fostering the rate of renewing vineyards, the register of new European grape varieties in the French national catalogue, the full or partial acceptation of the new grape varieties in PDO areas, the increase of the political pressure from ecologists and the civil society about the reduction of phytosanitary inputs, the integration of those varieties in the national endowment of the wine CMO for the restructuring of vineyards or, finally, the insertion of resistance genes in traditional varieties through faster means than classic genetics. However, the strategy consisting in the creation of new varieties through GMO methods seems not adapted to the Society, including at the research level