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Potential and limitations of biotechnology for socio-economic transformation in developing countries

The paper looks at the potential role of the emerging plant biotechnologies in raising agricultural productivity in the developing countries. It begins with a brief overview of some of the environmental and social problems encountered during the Green Revolution, particularly in India, and then considers how the new biotechnologies may assist developing countries in promoting a more sustainable and socially equitable model of agricultural transformation. Some of the main obstacles to the widespread diffusion of indigenous "appropriate" biotechnologies are then discussed, in particular the growing commercialisation of research and development (R&D) in this area, coupled with the extension of intellectual property rights protection. It further argues that, if strictly commercial considerations remain dominant, biotechnological innovations are likely to be used to increase farmers' dependence on packaged technological inputs, such as agro-chemicals and restricted hybrid seed varieties, supplied almost exclusively by Trans National Corporations (TNCs) of the developed countries; this conflicts with sustainable development objectives which seek to foster self reliance and conserve both biological and cultural diversity.