agriculture biotechnology Articles
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Stakeholder perceptions towards agricultural biotechnology in Mexico
National debates on the risks and benefits of agricultural biotechnology are strongly framed by a country's particular cultural, historical and environmental circumstances, as well as political and economic interests. The following study uses the case of Mexico to investigate stakeholder attitudes in the public debate on agricultural biotechnology in developing countries. For this purpose, a ...
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Risk as narrative value: a theoretical framework for facilitating the biotechnology debate
Maintaining the global public good character of agricultural biotechnology requires the blending of many different values. Sometimes, however, there are large gaps between the values held by different stakeholder groups. Furthermore, there is a contradiction between what people say they value, and how they actually behave. Articulating and overcoming gaps and contradictions is key to reducing ...
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Causes and consequences of international trade conflict over agricultural biotechnology
This article shows why and how differences across countries in agri-biotech regulation create tensions in the world trading system. It explores how these tensions could develop into full-blown trade conflicts. It also assesses the consequences of such trade conflicts for biotechnology and for developing countries. Stripped of all analytical caveats, the prognosis is rather pessimistic. The ...
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Changing intellectual property regimes: implications for developing country agriculture
The revolutions in biotechnology and intellectual property protection began in the developed world. The USA led the global transformation of intellectual property protection, and has been the leader in commercialisation of biotechnology in agriculture. Now all members of the World Trade Organization are committed to offer intellectual property protections for agriculture. Will the benefits of ...
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Agricultural biotechnology policies and research investments in Mexico
This paper examines the agricultural biotechnology research situation in Mexico. In addition to providing insights into the institutional and policy evolution, it analyses a quantitative survey of biotechnology investments in the 14 most important national public and private research organisations from 1985 to 1997. During this time period, Mexico experienced a noteworthy biotechnology ...
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Forces influencing developing country views of agricultural biotechnology: an analysis of training programme participants' perceptions
Agricultural biotechnology is expanding around the world, but societal acceptance remains an important issue. Michigan State University (MSU) has developed and implemented an agricultural biotechnology short course for developing countries. Four courses were taught to regional groups in 2002–2003 and eight more were taught to geographically diverse groups in 2004–2008. One half day of each course ...
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The effect of religion, education and income on the level of acceptance of biotechnology
Consumers' concerns about the health impacts of genetically modified foods (GMF) are perceived to be the largest threat to the future development of agricultural biotechnology. Using the results of a survey in Israel, this paper shows that more religious people have a higher tendency to oppose GMF while more educated people are more likely to accept it. Acceptance of GMF is high when it is ...
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Sheathless mutant of cyanobacterium gloeothece sp. Strain pcc 6909 with increased capacity to remove copper ions from aqueous solutions
Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine 24, 1-50144, Florence, Italy; IBMC-Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 823, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal; Departamento de Botânica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 1191, 4150-181 Porto, Portugal; and Instituto de Ciências ...
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Are developing-country policies and investments promoting research and research partnerships in agricultural biotechnology?
This article presents findings from two studies of public-sector research on agricultural biotechnology. The first focuses on national agricultural research organisations and universities in developing countries, while the second focuses on public?private research collaborations with international agricultural research centres. Findings suggest that a number of developing countries are, in fact, ...
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Agricultural biotechnology R&D and innovations in Nigeria
This study examined the nature and extent of the agricultural biotechnology R&D and innovations in Nigeria. Data were collected from the Directors, Heads of Crop Units and Research Scientists in the agricultural research institutes using structured and unstructured questionnaires and interview schedules. The data collected were analysed using frequencies, means and percentages. The study revealed ...
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Learning from the Terminator debacle
Monsanto's 1999 decision not to acquire "sterile seed technology", otherwise known as the "Terminator", was in response to widespread pressure. The technology's commercial potential was "uncertain", and the company's image and share price were taking a beating. Potential international suitors risked being scared off. Few people anywhere could find any redeeming ...
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Transgenic crops, EU precaution, and developing countries
Agricultural biotechnologies have the potential to offer higher incomes for farmers in developing countries and lower-priced and better-quality food, feed and fibre. That potential is being heavily compromised, however, because of strict regulatory systems in the European Union and elsewhere governing transgenically modified (GM) crops. This paper examines why the EU has taken the extreme ...
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Agricultural innovation and economic growth in Africa: renewing international cooperation
Rising food prices and the associated political upheavals have rekindled interest in international cooperation on food security in particular and economic development in general. This paper argues that efforts to promote food security in sub-Saharan Africa need take into account three key issues: food security is inseparable from economic development; science and innovation are a necessary part ...
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Agricultural biotechnology in India: ethics, business and politics
This paper deals with the case of Bt cotton in Gujarat, India, as an illustration of how public policy chickens out when large-scale violation of ethical and scientific norms takes place with positive business outcomes. Entrepreneurial spirit has created a unique case of farmer participatory research whereon farm crosses are being made between Bt cotton varieties and other released varieties. New ...
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Regulatory factors affecting the agri-food biotechnology sector in the European Union
In Europe, in addition to public opposition to genetically modified food, the slow pace of development in agricultural and food biotechnology has been attributed to the lack of basic preconditions for commercial and innovative activities. The role and justification of a significant degree of regulation related to crop biotechnology is discussed. We try to clarify the existing broad structures ...
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From principle to action: applying the precautionary principle to agricultural biotechnology
The precautionary principle advises that we take measures to avoid harm to the environment and public health even when there is scientific uncertainty regarding the nature and extent of harms that may result. The principle is rapidly evolving and gaining status in national and international law. We review four key elements included in all interpretations of the precautionary principle to date. We ...
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The income and production effects of biotech crops globally 1996-2009
This paper provides an assessment of the economic impact at the farm level of agricultural biotechnology on global agriculture. It examines the economic impacts on yields, key costs of production, direct farm income, indirect (non-pecuniary) farm level income effects and impacts on the production base of the four main crops of soybeans, corn, cotton and canola. The analysis shows that there have ...
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Research prizes: a new kind of incentive for innovation in African agriculture
This paper identifies market failures that limit agricultural R&D for Africa and other resource-poor environments, and proposes a way to complement existing institutions with cash prizes for the dissemination of successful new technologies adopted by low-income farmers. The proposed prize institution would use agronomic experiments and farm surveys to document the value of innovations after their ...
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Living the promise? The role of the private sector in enabling small-scale farmers to benefit from agro-biotech
Biotechnology and transgenetic crops (tGMOs) hold great promises as part of integrated solutions for poor and small-scale farmers. The private sector, which to date controls most releases of tGMOs globally, has combined philanthropy and commercialisation to this end. Yet few benefits have materialised. This narrative paper surveys and provides a framework for how multinational companies transfer ...
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Making use of biotechnology applications in Turkish agriculture: Why is it not yet happening?
One of the primary challenges for developing countries is to create new opportunities for sustainable economic development through the use of new technologies such as biotechnology. In this context, the use of agricultural biotechnology to produce cheap biofuel made from agricultural crops as well as agricultural waste (cellulose) might have a great potential to promote rural development in ...
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