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Private Research and Public Goods: Implications of biotechnology for biodiversity

Author

Listed:
  • Terri Raney

    (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization)

  • Prabhu Pingali

    (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization)

Abstract

The pattern of crop genetic diversity has changed over the past two centuries with the modernization of agriculture, accelerating with the advent of the green revolution. Since the green revolution, the locus of agricultural research has shifted from the public to the private sector. The growing importance of the private sector in agricultural R&D is changing the types of crop technologies that are developed and the ways they are delivered to farmers. The spread of transgenic crops will influence crop genetic diversity, but their implications for the availability of plant genetic resources and the resilience of agricultural ecosystems are not entirely clear. Transgenic crops may increase or decrease crop genetic diversity, depending on how they are regulated and deployed. This paper explores a range of policy options to increase the likelihood that private sector R&D, particularly in the form of transgenic crops, enhances rather than erodes crop genetic diversity.

Suggested Citation

  • Terri Raney & Prabhu Pingali, 2004. "Private Research and Public Goods: Implications of biotechnology for biodiversity," Working Papers 04-07, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    • Handle: RePEc:fao:wpaper:0407
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pingali, P. L. & Traxler, G., 2002. "Changing locus of agricultural research: will the poor benefit from biotechnology and privatization trends?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 223-238, June.
    2. Carl E. Pray & Anwar Naseem, 2003. "The Economics of Agricultural Biotechnology," Working Papers 03-07, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    3. Odhiambo, Benjamin & Bergvinson, David & Mugo, Stephen & De Groote, Hugo, 2004. "Debunking The Myths Of Gm Crops For Africa: The Case Of Bt Maize In Kenya," 2004 Annual meeting, August 1-4, Denver, CO 19918, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    4. Matin Qaim & Alain de Janvry, 2003. "Genetically Modified Crops, Corporate Pricing Strategies, and Farmers' Adoption: The Case of Bt Cotton in Argentina," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 85(4), pages 814-828.
    5. Byerlee, Derek & Fischer, Ken, 2002. "Accessing Modern Science: Policy and Institutional Options for Agricultural Biotechnology in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 931-948, June.
    6. Pray, Carl E. & Naseem, Anwar, 2003. "The economics of agricultural biotechnology research," ESA Working Papers 289092, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA).
    7. Prabhu L. Pingali, 1997. "From Subsistence to Commercial Production Systems: The Transformation of Asian Agriculture," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 79(2), pages 628-634.
    8. Carl E. Pray, 2001. "Public-Private Sector Linkages in Research and Development: Biotechnology and the Seed Industry in Brazil, China and India," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 83(3), pages 742-747.
    9. Pingali, Prabhu L & Rozelle, Scott D & Gerpacio, Roberta V, 2001. "The Farmer's Voice in Priority Setting: A Cross-Country Experiment in Eliciting Technological Preferences," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 49(3), pages 591-609, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Deepthi Kolady & William Lesser, 2012. "Genetically-engineered crops and their effects on varietal diversity: a case of Bt eggplant in India," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(1), pages 3-15, March.
    2. Gabriella Vindigni & Giuseppe La Terra, 2016. "Rethinking IPRs on agro-biotechnological innovations in the context of food security," RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA', FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2).
    3. Johns, Timothy & Eyzaguirre, Pablo B., 2007. "Biofortification, biodiversity and diet: A search for complementary applications against poverty and malnutrition," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 1-24, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Biochemical engineering; Biotechnology; Genetic engineering; Novel foods; Technology;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • Q16 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services

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