Business model
"It is well to remember that the stomach governs the world".
Winston Churchill
Predicted population growth and the need for food security requires increased crop production on a finite area of land in an environmentally sustainable manner. Governmental policy in the area of agricultural research favours private sector solutions. Crop protection and the problems caused by plant-parasitic nematodes is no exception.
Due to the predicted effects of climate change and the increasing constraints on plant productivity caused by plant-parasitic nematodes, K G Davies Limited is a business designed to act as a catalyst between the public sector, the private sector and non-governmental sectors (eg. NGOs, educational institutions and charities) to take an integrated approach to the pipeline between fundamental academic research, applied pre-commercial research, extension services and growers. Focusing on the role of nematodes and their effects on plant root health, the company provides intellectual capital and expertise in the areas of research and development, project management, consultancy and training. K G Davies Limited has strong links to the University of Hertfordshire where he has a part-time position.
Project management uses an associative leadership model based on a common vision embraced by internal and external stakeholders (see Davies & Wolf-Phillips (2006) Trends in Biotechnology 24, 57-61).