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Hybrid potato breeding is an emerging technology that can have a strong impact on the potato sector by replacing seed potatoes with true seeds. The Netherlands is a world leader in certified seed potatoes and a number of Dutch companies play a pivotal role in the development of this technology. This implies a certain responsibility for the consequences and conditions of its implementation and we therefore explored how Dutch potato breeding companies see their role and responsibility especially in low- and middle-income countries in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From interviews, it appears that most potato breeding companies emphasise the promising role of hybrid potato breeding in achieving SDGs. They also stress that their core business is at the heart of corporate social responsibility as it contributes to the SDGs. We also observed that for the introduction of new varieties they often rely on trickle-down mechanisms, where local farmers are rather passive recipients, rather than being actively involved in strategic choices of innovation. It may explain why the concept of responsible research and innovation (RRI), which emphasises the active involvement of society and affected stakeholders, is relatively unknown in the sector. The main approach in the sector may be labelled as a ‘solution strategy’ where dominant actors rely on their expertise to solve problems. However, the attainment of SDGs should rather be considered as a wicked problem, characterised by complexity, uncertainty and multiple actor’s perspectives. A ‘negotiation strategy’, which is more inclusive and stresses the need of negotiation between different perspectives and interests, may fit better. From the perspective of RRI it is argued that insights from participatory breeding and farmer variety selection traditions and the concept of benefit sharing may be considered as promising negotiation strategies that can contribute to potato breeding practices for the attainment of SDGs.

We explore how the potential of hybrid potato breeding can be harnessed for smallholder farmers in low-income countries, using economic theories developed for the governance of commons (or common-pool goods). Despite the great potential of hybrid potato breeding, it comes with major challenges that need to be overcome by public-private collaboration. We explore the strengths and challenges of four possible models for public-private collaboration of how hybrid potato breeding can be made available for smallholder farmers in low-income countries: the charity model, the pre-competitive research model, the breeding consortium model, and the project model. It should be noted that these four models are not mutually exclusive. The four models show that there are different ways of institutionalising public-private partnerships while each of these models have specific strengths and weaknesses when it comes to ensuring smallholder access to innovation. It can be argued that the project model is most likely to ensue if no concerted action is taken to institutionalise the access to hybrid breeding for smallholder farmers. This exploration of the four models of public-private partnerships can be used as a starting point for the public and private sectors to come together and discuss how they can combine their forces for the benefit of smallholder farmers around the world. We are convinced that the way these models will be operationalised will result in much more complex and nuanced collaborations, and involve other aspects that we have not taken in consideration.