Sociopolitical Effects of New Biotechnologies in Developing Countries.

Sociopolitical Effects of New Biotechnologies in Developing Countries. PDF

Author: Klaus M. Leisinger

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 24

ISBN-13: 0896296091

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Assuring food security for the next 25 years requires meeting a number of political, social, economic, and technical challenges. One of these is the successful use of new biotechnologies in agriculture. Research in recombinant genetics and biotechnology aims to develop plant varieties that provide reliable high yields at the same or lower costs by breeding in qualities such as resistance to disease, pests, and stress factors such as aridity. Realization of these goals could lead to tremendous gains in food production. However, biotechnology is now evoking the same objections that have been raised against the Green Revolution—that its benefits are distributed inequitably in favor of the large, rich farmers and that it is potentially environmentally destructive. In this brief, Leisinger discusses the need for biotechnology and its sociopolitical ramifications and he looks at the roles played by the public and private sectors. In conclusion, the author states that biotechnology offers no silver bullet for food security — there are no silver bullets—but biotechnology is an important instrument in the difficult fight against hunger. The sociopolitical obstacles must be removed not only for the successful implementation of biotechnology, but also for an equitable and sustainable tomorrow for the world.

Economic and Social Issues in Agricultural Biotechnology

Economic and Social Issues in Agricultural Biotechnology PDF

Author: Robert E. Evenson

Publisher: CABI

Published: 2002-07-01

Total Pages: 444

ISBN-13: 9780851997889

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There are currently many controversial socioeconomic issues concerned with the development and implementation of agricultural biotechnology. This book presents selected revised and edited papers from the fourth and fifth meetings of the International Consortium on Agricultural Biotechnology Research, held in Italy in 2000 and 2001.

Agricultural Biotechnology in Developing Countries

Agricultural Biotechnology in Developing Countries PDF

Author: Matin Qaim

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-09

Total Pages: 428

ISBN-13: 1475731787

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Biotechnology offers great potential to contribute to sustainable agricultural growth, food security and poverty alleviation in developing countries. Yet there are economic and institutional constraints at national and international levels that inhibit the poor people's access to appropriate biotechnological innovations. Agricultural Biotechnology in Developing Countries: Towards Optimizing the Benefits for the Poor addresses the major constraints. Twenty-three chapters, written by a wide range of scholars and stake-holders, provide an up-to-date analysis of agricultural biotechnology developments in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Besides the expected economic and social impacts, the challenges for an adjustment of the international research structure are discussed, with a special focus on intellectual property rights and the roles of the main research organizations. Harnessing the comparative advantages of the public and private sectors through innovative partnerships is the only way forward to optimize the benefits of biotechnology for the poor. The book will be an invaluable resource for both academics and policy-makers concerned with agricultural biotechnology in context of developing-countries.

Biotechnology: Economic and Social Aspects

Biotechnology: Economic and Social Aspects PDF

Author: E. J. DaSilva

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1992-04-30

Total Pages: 406

ISBN-13: 9780521384735

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This book was first published in 1992. This book deals with an area of great importance: the issues involved in developing biotechnologically based industries in the developing countries. The science and most of the techniques are well established and it is often possible to obtain the desired finance. This book, however, examines the sort of choices that a developing country has to make as to whether to go ahead with any of the projects outlined in the book and their likely socio-economic consequences. Each chapter is written by experts in their field and discusses the current biotechnologically based industries and their state of development, their suitability for various economies and the problems associated with developing them. Chapters discuss environmental questions and further socio-economic factors that need to be considered in order to bring about successful wealth creation in these countries. This book will be invaluable reading for all those interested in biotechnology and its application to the developing world.

Emerging Consequences of Biotechnology

Emerging Consequences of Biotechnology PDF

Author: Krishna R. Dronamraju

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 485

ISBN-13: 9812775013

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The principal message of this book is that thermodynamics and statistical mechanics will benefit from replacing the unfortunate, misleading and mysterious term "entropy" with a more familiar, meaningful and appropriate term such as information, missing information or uncertainty. This replacement would facilitate the interpretation of the "driving force" of many processes in terms of informational changes and dispel the mystery that has always enshrouded entropy. It has been 140 years since Clausius coined the term "entropy"; almost 50 years since Shannon developed the mathematical theory of "information"--Subsequently renamed "entropy." In this book, the author advocates replacing "entropy" by "information," a term that has become widely used in many branches of science. The author also takes a new and bold approach to thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Information is used not only as a tool for predicting distributions but as the fundamental cornerstone concept of thermodynamics, held until now by the term "entropy." The topics covered include the fundamentals of probability and information theory; the general concept of information as well as the particular concept of information as applied in thermodynamics; the re-derivation of the Sackur-Tetrode equation for the entropy of an ideal gas from purely informational arguments; the fundamental formalism of statistical mechanics; and many examples of simple processes the "driving force" for which is analyzed in terms of information.

Biotechnology, Agriculture and the Developing World

Biotechnology, Agriculture and the Developing World PDF

Author: Timothy M. Swanson

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13:

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The product of research sponsored by the UK Department for International Development and a May 2000 workshop held in Rome, Italy, this book comprises 11 contributions from experts affiliated with the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (Rome, Italy) and the Institute for Plant Biology (U. of Zurich, Switzerland), and from academics in agriculture, food economics, law, and land economy affiliated with universities in the UK, US, and Italy. They investigate ways in which industrial changes implicit in new biotechnologies will affect modern agriculture; analyze industrial and distribution impacts, including consequences for developing countries; and look at genetic use restriction technologies and their implications for global agricultural production. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Potential Impacts of Crop Biotechnology in Developing Countries

Potential Impacts of Crop Biotechnology in Developing Countries PDF

Author: Matin Qaim

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13:

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Crop biotechnology could boost global food production in a sustainable way. However, the economic repercussions of biotechnology for developing countries are largely unknown and have been the subject of acute controversy over the last few years. This study deals with the topic and provides some preliminary empirical results. An analytical framework for the ex ante evaluation of biotechnology in smallholder agriculture is developed, which is then used within three different case studies in Kenya and Mexico. It is shown that biotechnology holds great potentials for poor agricultural producers and consumers. Yet appropriate institutional adjustments are required to capitalize on these potentials. Implications for national and international biotechnology policies are discussed.

Biotechnology

Biotechnology PDF

Author: David J. Webber

Publisher: Praeger

Published: 1990-08-24

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13:

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This collection of 14 essays written by leading researchers on a variety of topics related to biotechnology focuses on the social, ethical, economic, legal, and political aspects of biotechnological applications. Usually defined as any technique that uses living organisms or processes to make or modify products, to improve plants or animals, or to develop micro-organisms, biotechnology has political characteristics similar to those of other technological advances, such as applications of artificial intelligence in manufacturing or new procedures in medicine. In all of these innovations, the rapid application of new scientific knowledge challenges existing social values, legal and political protections, and production processes. In presenting some of the technically and politically complex policy issues that need to be faced by local, state, and national-level policy makers, as well as academic, business, agricultural, and medical institutions during the next decade, these chapters anticipate an array of social, economic, and institutional consequences that will occur if biotechnology gains wide acceptance. The volume is divided into four sections that assess various facets of the biotechnological phenomenon. In Part I, biotechnology's social and political dimensions are probed in three chapters that examine the subject from three very different perspectives. American universities, agricultural cooperatives, and developing countries are the focus of Part II which investigates the response of institutions to biotechnological development. In Part III, biotechnology's potential impacts are gauged in three chapters that analyze economic and legal influences, inquire into the dairy industry and regulation of genetically engineered organisms, and evaluate regulatory experience with food safety. The final section is devoted to a presentation of public policy responses to biotechnology and includes four chapters that center on issue development and responsibilities, economic development and public policy as they relate to biotechnology, and a challenge to congressional policy makers and policy analysts. A real groundbreaker with substantial implications for the 21st century, this collection of essays must be read by all public policy makers and by scientists working to further biotechnological development. This work is suitable as a textbook in upper level and graduate courses in public policy, interdisciplinary biotechnology, and science and technology courses.

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