Abstract
While there are widespread concerns that agricultural biotechnology might contribute to a further erosion of crop genetic diversity, in this chapter it is argued that the opposite could actually be true. Biotechnology allows for separation between the act of developing novel crop traits and the process of breeding plant varieties. As a result, a given biotechnology innovation may be incorporated into a large number of locally adapted plant varieties. This is confirmed by first empirical evidence from different countries. However, a theoretical model is developed which shows that the outcome is situation specific and depends on various institutional factors. Local research capacities, intellectual property policies, and biosafety regulation schemes are identified as important determinants for the actual impact of biotechnology on crop genetic diversity. Policy implications are discussed with a particular emphasis on developing countries.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
ASA, 2002, Cultivares de Maiz y Soja Transgénicos Comercialmente Disponibles en Argentina, Asociación Semilleros Argentinos, Buenos Aires.
Carpenter, J., Felsot, A., Goode, T., Hammig, M., Onstad, D., and Sankula, S., 2002, Comparative Environmental Impacts of Biotechnology-Derived and Traditional Soybean, Corn, and Cotton Crops, Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa.
Evenson, R., and Gollin, D., 2003, Assessing the impact of the green revolution, 1960 to 2000, Science 300:758–762.
Falck-Zepeda, J. B., Traxler, G., and Nelson, R. G., 2000, Rent creation and distribution from biotechnology innovations: The case of Bt cotton and herbicide-tolerant soybeans in 1997, Agribusiness 16:21–32.
FAO, 1998, The State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome.
FAO, 1999, Glossary of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome.
Graff, G., Cullen, S., Bradford, K., Zilberman, D., and Bennet, A., 2003, The public-private structure of intellectual property ownership in agricultural biotechnology, Nature Biotech. 21:989–995.
INASE, 2000, Yearbook 1999, Instituto Nacional de Semillas, Secretaria de Agricultura, GanaderÃa, Pesca y Alimentación, Buenos Aires.
Moschini, G., Lapan, H., and Sobolevsky, A., 2000, Roundup Ready soybeans and welfare effects in the soybean complex, Agribusiness 16:33–55.
Pray, C. E., Huang, J., Hu, R., and Rozelle, S., 2002, Five years of Bt cotton in China—The benefits continue, The Plant J. 31:423–430.
Qaim, M., and Traxler, G., forthcoming, Roundup Ready soybeans in Argentina: Farm-level and aggregate welfare effects, Agrl Econ.
Qaim, M, and Zilberman, D., 2003, Yield effects of genetically modified crops in developing countries, Science 299:900–902.
Traxler, G., Falck-Zepeda, J. B., and Sain, G., 1999, Genes, germplasm and developing country access to genetically modified crop varieties, paper presented at the 3rd ICABR conference, Rome.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Qaim, M., Yarkin, C., Zilberman, D. (2005). Impact of Biotechnology on Crop Genetic Diversity. In: Cooper, J., Lipper, L.M., Zilberman, D. (eds) Agricultural Biodiversity and Biotechnology in Economic Development. Natural Resource Management and Policy, vol 27. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-25409-9_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-25409-9_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-25407-4
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-25409-8
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsEconomics and Finance (R0)