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Agricultural Biotechnology in Developing Countries

Researchers explore the scientific, social, political, and economic impacts of genetically modified crops and other agricultural biotechnology.

Published September 1, 2000

By Arianne Vena
Academy Contributor

Image courtesy of SKT Studio via stock.adobe.com.

In the coming years, we will need to increase our food production to match the growth of our global population. This is not controversial. We all need to eat. How we will meet this demand, however, is not so clear.

To encourage debate and resolution in this area, The New York Academy of Sciences (the Academy) held a press backgrounder entitled “Agricultural Biotechnology and the Developing Countries” on June 20th. Speakers discussed the promise of genetically modified crops and highlighted the scientific, social, political, and economic web that this technology will have to negotiate in order to succeed. A panel moderated by National Public Radio’s Ira Flatow concluded the event.

“If we put our minds to solving this puzzle, it can be solved,” said Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). “But reducing hunger, food insecurity and child death due to malnutrition is not a high priority in very many countries around the world,” he said.

Increase in Global Demand

To highlight the importance of such a priority, Andersen outlined the projected strain on the food supply in various parts of the world. Global demand for cereals, roots, and tubers will increase by about 40 percent between 1995 and 2020, according to IFPRI projections, while cultivated land areas are only likely to increase by about seven percent. This suggests that increased crop yields will become imperative to meet demand.

Genetically modified crops are an obvious candidate to increase those yields. Charles Arntzen, President and CEO of the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, highlighted some of the promise of this technology, including the benefits of insect resistance in crops like potatoes, and the promise of enhanced nutrition from modified strains of rice and grains which could boost vitamin A and iron content in staple foods in Asia and Africa.

Arntzen also emphasized the fact that developed countries are the ones creating this technology and developing countries are the ones that need it. “We don’t need it in the U.S.,” said Arntzen referring to an insect resistant potato. “We’ve got the storage conditions in place to solve that problem.” While in places like South America, he said, a large portion of the potato crops spoil due to moth larvae and other pests.

Tensions Between Developing and Developed Countries

Panel participants discussed this tension between the developing and developed countries as an important obstacle in the spread of genetically modified crops. Calestous Juma, Director of the Science, Technology and Innovation Program at the Harvard Center for International Development and an Academy member, argued that all technological options should be left open and exercised judiciously in the transition toward sustainability. While calling for the importance of greater public sector investment for R&D and the role of clear policies and public institutions in the developing countries, Dr. Juma also emphasized the role of private enterprise in development.

Rebecca Goldburg of Environmental Defense, however, saw the problem differently. “There’s plenty of technology in the world today to provide enough food for people if we had the social and political will and ways to distribute that food.” She added, “A multinational’s responsibility is to its shareholders. Some efforts are well-intentioned, but I see the role of biotechnology as limited.”

Although other issues were also discussed, such as the possibility of foreign genes spreading into wild plant populations, the discussion at the Academy emphasized problems of communication, trust, and technical issues such as patents.

Also read: The Impact of Climate Change in Agriculture


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