IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/fao/wpaper/0407.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

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
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/007/ae062e/ae062e00.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    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. 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.
    3. 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).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Spielman, David J., 2007. "Pro-poor agricultural biotechnology: Can the international research system deliver the goods?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 189-204, April.
    2. Carl E. Pray & Anwar Naseem, 2003. "Biotechnology R&D: Policy options to ensure access and benefits for the poor," Working Papers 03-08, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    3. Anwar Naseem & David J. Spielman & Steven Were Omamo, 2010. "Private-sector investment in R&D: a review of policy options to promote its growth in developing-country agriculture," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(1), pages 143-173.
    4. Spielman, David J. & Zambrano, Patricia, 2013. "Policy, investment, and partnerships for agricultural biotechnology research in Africa: Emerging evidence," IFPRI book chapters, in: Falck-Zepeda, Jose Benjamin & Gruère, Guillaume P. & Sithole-Niang, Idah (ed.), Genetically modified crops in Africa: Economic and policy lessons from countries south of the Sahara, chapter 7, pages 183-205, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Krishna, Vijesh V. & Qaim, Matin, 2007. "Estimating the adoption of Bt eggplant in India: Who Benefits from public-private partnership?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(5-6), pages 523-543.
    6. Prabhu Pingali, 2010. "Global agriculture R&D and the changing aid architecture," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 41(s1), pages 145-153, November.
    7. Spielman, David J. & Kolady, Deepthi E. & Cavalieri, Anthony & Rao, N. Chandrasekhara, 2014. "The seed and agricultural biotechnology industries in India: An analysis of industry structure, competition, and policy options," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 88-100.
    8. Hareau, Guy G. & Mills, Bradford F. & Norton, George W., 2006. "The potential benefits of herbicide-resistant transgenic rice in Uruguay: Lessons for small developing countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 162-179, April.
    9. De Gorter, Harry & Tsur, Yacov, 2008. "Towards a Genuine Sustainability Standard for Biofuel Production," 14th ICABR Conference, June 16-18, 2010, Ravello, Italy 188419, International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research (ICABR).
    10. De Groote, Hugo & Andam, Kwaw S. & Munyua, Bernard & Spielman, David J., 2010. "Market Segmentation Strategies And Seed Purchasing Decisions Among Smallholders: Preliminary Findings From Kenya," 14th ICABR Conference, June 16-18, 2010, Ravello, Italy 188084, International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research (ICABR).
    11. Arza, Valeria & van Zwanenberg, Patrick, 2014. "The Politics of Technological Upgrading: International Transfer to and Adaptation of GM Cotton in Argentina," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 521-534.
    12. Hareau, Guy Gaston & Mills, Bradford F. & Norton, George W., 2005. "Arroz Transgénico en Uruguay: un modelo de simulación para estimar los beneficios económicos potenciales," Serie Tecnica 121683, Instituto Nacional de Investigacion Agropecuaria (INIA).
    13. Rousselière, Samira & Rousselière, Damien & Ramani, Shyama, 2016. "Innovation Led Alliances: Theory and application to the GM Plant Industry," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235711, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. 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.
    15. Spielman, David J. & Ma, Xingliang, 2014. "Intellectual property rights, technology diffusion, and agricultural development: Cross-country evidence:," IFPRI discussion papers 1345, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    16. Spielman,David J. & Hartwich,Frank & von Grebmer, Klaus, 2007. "Sharing science, building bridges, and enhancing impact: Public-Private Partnerships in the CGIAR," IFPRI discussion papers 708, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    17. Genti Kostandini & Bradford F. Mills & Steven Were Omamo & Stanley Wood, 2009. "Ex ante analysis of the benefits of transgenic drought tolerance research on cereal crops in low‐income countries," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(4), pages 477-492, July.
    18. Ciarli, Tommaso & Ràfols, Ismael, 2019. "The relation between research priorities and societal demands: The case of rice," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 949-967.
    19. Mekonnen, D. & Spielman, D., 2018. "Changing patterns in the international movement of crop genetic material: An analysis of global policy drivers and potential consequences," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277432, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    20. Ajay Thutupalli & Michiko Iizuka, 2016. "Catching-up in agricultural innovation: the case of Bacillus thuringiensis cotton in India," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 25(6), pages 923-940.

    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

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:fao:wpaper:0407. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Gustavo Anríquez (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/faoooit.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.