It is now widely acknowledged that biotechnology will have significant implications for development. While biotechnology’s potential for low income economies is still the subject of controversy, this paper argues that it is precisely in these countries that food and agriculture related biotechnology could efficiently contribute to the achievement of development objectives. To date, however, biotechnological advances have been realized predominantly in industrialized countries. Policy-makers in developing countries and in development organizations are challenged to select appropriate strategies for optimally harnessing the potentials of biotechnology for the poor. Policy-oriented information on likely economic impacts of biotechnologies becomes the key parameter for guidance in program formulation, but little has been available thus far. Hitherto approaches of technology assessment proved rather inappropriate for providing such information for particular decisions. This paper presents a conceptual framework for ex ante economic studies in developing countries – a framework within which the efficiency and equity implications of specific technologies can be analysed quantitatively. Technological impacts also depend on institutional arrangements and on political support systems, dynamics that are explicitly taken into account by the proposed scenario approach. The findings of such analyses can thus provide assistance in decision-making at various phases of the technology path.
Source majeure d’alimentation pour une grande partie de l’humanité, les céréales étaient au coeur de la crise alimentaire en 2008. Elles sont de nouveau en première ligne. Aujourd’hui, les changements de modes de consommation des pays émergents, ainsi que la...
Mobile phone use is increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa, spurring a growing focus on mobile phones as tools to increase agricultural yields and incomes on smallholder farms. However, the research to date on this topic is mixed, with studies finding both...
Los cambios acontecidos en la agricultura cubana a finales del siglo XX provocaron la ruptura del paradigma basado en la dependencia de importaciones, por lo que se precisó comenzar a construir un nuevo modelo técnico-económico sobre la base del desarrollo...
While several studies have shown that genetically modified Bt cotton can benefit smallholder farmers economically, the sustainability of these effects is still unclear and debated controversially between biotechnology proponents and critics. We use unique panel data of 533 cotton farmers,...
Esta herramienta permitirá a los actores de los movimientos de agricultura orgánica de los países diagnosticar el estado de sus sistemas nacionales de control de la producción orgánica (SNC) y elaborar, de manera participativay con el apoyo del IICA, planes...