Despite the ongoing controversial debates about genetically engineered crops, there is little doubt that biotechnology will substantially impact on global agricultural production. But how can developing countries, where the need for agricultural innovation is greatest, become the main beneficiaries? Biotechnology research is capital- and knowledge-intensive, and without targeted support there is the risk that the technology will bypass the small farm sector and poor consumers in the South. If we are to tackle the problems of the poor we must develop innovative research projects. This report by Matin Qaim analyzes international research projects jointly launched by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Monsanto, and other organizations to develop genetically engineered sweetpotatoes with resistance to major pests and diseases. The expected economic ramifications are analyzed for small-scale farming systems in Kenya, where the transgenic varieties will first be deployed in the near future. The report shows that both sweetpotato producers and consumers will profit from the technology. In addition to these direct, positive impacts on the income and food security situation of households, the initiatives advance significant biotechnology capacityformation in the Kenyan agricultural research system. Indeed, the examples in the study clearly demonstrate the viability of public-private sector research partnerships for the benefit of developing countries. Working with typical semisubsistence crops—such as sweetpotato—is particularly attractive because it targets the poor and avoids conflicts with the private sector′s business interests. Having analyzed transgenic potato technology in Mexico and tissue culture banana technology in Kenya, the present study is the third fieldworkbased socioeconomic biotechnology assessment carried out independently by the Center for Development Research (ZEF) and published in collaboration with the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). The
combined results of these studies underline even more firmly that modern agricultural biotechnology can provide great benefits to low- and middleincome countries, including the smallholder sector. Yet these benefits will not materialize without public support. The international community must translate the promise of biotechnology for the South into actual benefits through appropriate policies. Apart from higher financial commitments for public biotechnology research targeting smallholders and poor consumers, profound institutional changes in national and international agricultural innovation systems are necessary to respond efficiently to the rapidly changing framework conditions.

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0406|AL-Economics Program

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