Agricultural Biotechnology for Developing Countries: Prospects and Policies

Will the biotechnology revolution improve the living standards of poor rural farmers in developing countries? The Green Revolution showed that the economic and social structures in a society play a larger role in determining how innovations affect people than the scientific content of the innovations. Social and economic structures within developing countries and within the international community will determine what crops are enhanced using biotechnology, which traits of the crops are altered, and how the new seeds and plantlets will be distributed. The fact that the private sector is taking the lead in biotechnology rather than public sector institutions has important implications for developing countries. Crops with high public benefits will not be developed by the private sector if they are not profitable. The public sector and nonprofit sector, in collaboration with the private sector, have important roles to play to ensure that the benefits of biotechnology are available to the poor in developing countries.