Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
within countries in order to establish comprehensive biosafety protocols
for genetically modified organisms. 39 Such policy frameworks will need
to protect intellectual property rights, to protect against environmental
and health risks, and to regulate the private sector if developing countries
are to benefit significantly from genetically modified technologies. It seems
likely that biotechnology will make some contributions to the sustain-
ability of agricultural systems. But for the poorest farmers, communities
and countries, biotechnology is unlikely to make a very significant
contribution for some years. As indicated earlier, a significant priority is
the maximization of benefits from agroecological approaches that rely on
high ecological literacy and good social relations.
Concluding Comments
In this chapter, I have addressed the genetics controversy in agricultural
systems. It is impossible to think about agricultural transformation
without assessing these technologies, and without appraising who is
producing them and what they could bring in the form of both benefits
and costs. There are many applications of biotechnology, and there are
likely to be several distinct generations of released technologies. It would
be wrong, therefore, to generalize about genetic modification - each
application needs to be addressed on a case-by-case basis. We need to ask
questions about who produces each technology and why; whether it can
benefit the poorest and, if so, how will they access it; and whether it will
have adverse or positive environmental and health side effects. It is likely
that biotechnology will make some contributions to agricultural sustain-
ability; but developing the research systems, institutions, and policies to
make them pro-poor will be more difficult.
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