Nicholas KalaitzandonakesUniversity of Missouri The importance of agrobiotechnology for the less developed countries (LDCs) has been debated for almost two decades. Food security has been a focal issue. However, discussions have been far more expansive and complex. With technological capacity being a…

Gregory Conko and Fred L. Smith, Jr.Competitive Enterprise Institute Agronomists have used increasingly sophisticated genetic manipulation of agricultural plants to ensure that food production has outpaced population growth. Biotechnology, the newest stage in that process, is jeopardized by unfounded concerns that it…

Miguel A. Altieri and Peter RossetUniversity of California, Berkeley & Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Advocates of biotechnology affirm that the application of genetic engineering to develop transgenic crops will increase world agricultural productivity, enhance food security, and move agriculture…

Barbara Woodward, Johan Brink, and Dave BergerARC-Roodeplaat Vegetable and Ornamental Plant Institue, South Africa There has been much recent discussion on the potential impact of biotechnology on development in Africa. Can agricultural biotechnology make a significant difference, or would a strategy combining…

Martina McGloughlinUniversity of California, Davis The objective in this article is to challenge misconceptions often put forward about the technologies of biotechnology. In particular, I challenge many of the arguments put forward by Altieri and Rosset in their paper published in this…

Cesar A. FalconiInternational Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) In 1998, the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) conducted a biotechnology research indicator survey of four national agricultural research systems in Mexico, Kenya, Indonesia, and Zimbabwe. Some of the policy recommendations…

Suman SahaiGene Campaign Biotechnology is comprised of a continuum of technologies ranging from long-established and widely applied technologies to more recent recombinant DNA (rDNA) techniques. Several of the technologies are reviewed in this paper, along with specific applications in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia,…

Greg TraxlerAuburn University and International Center for the Improvement of Maize and Wheat (CIMMYT) Although genetically modified varieties (GMVs) have been commercially successful in the United States(US), their future in developing countries (DCs) with smaller markets is uncertain. How likely is it…

William A. Kerr, Jill E. Hobbs, and Revadee YampoinUniversity of Saskatchewan, Canada; University of Saskatchewan, Canada; and Kasetsart University, Thailand The international protection of intellectual property has been a contentious issue between developed and developing countries. Protection of intellectual property rights in…

George TzotzosUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization The diffusion of biotechnology in most countries of the developing world is likely to take the form of embedded technologies (transgenic seed). In some countries with an incipient science and technology capacity diffusion is likely to…