Author Robert L. Paarlberg examines the cases of four developing countries-Brazil, China, India, and Kenya-and devises a system for classifying their policy choices toward GM crops in the areas of intellectual property rights, food safety, biosafety, trade, and public re-search investment. He finds that Brazil, India, and Kenya have adopted some policies that tend to slow the spread of GM crops within their borders, whereas China began commercial production of these crops in 1997. Because of its more closed political system, China is relatively insulated from international and other pressures.

Governing the GM Crop Revolution reveals several lessons for developing countries. For example, developing countries that wish to shape the GM crop revolution to their own needs will probably need to develop their own biotechnology research capacity. "Home-grown" GM crop varieties are more likely to be appropriate to domestic farmers' needs and to overcome regulatory hurdles than crops developed by multinationals from industrial countries.

A 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture, and the Environment is an initiative of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to identify solutions for meeting future world food needs while reducing poverty and protecting the environment. NEWS&VIEWS seeks to stimulate dialogue and to inform readers of the progress of the 2020 Vision initiative. All issues of NEWS&VIEWS are available in English, and selected issues are available in French and/or Spanish. To offer comments for publication in NEWS&VIEWS or obtain more information about the 2020 Vision and its publications, contact IFPRI at 2033 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006-1002 U.S.A.; telephone: 1-202-862-5600; fax: 1-202-467-4439; e-mail: ifpri@cgiar.org; web: www.ifpri.org. IFPRI reserves the right to excerpt and edit NEWS&VIEWS submissions.

The 2020 Vision initiative gratefully acknowledges support during 2000 from the following donors: CIDA, CTA, DANIDA, Government of Spain, the Rockefeller Foundation, SIDA, and SDC.

IFPRI is one of 16 Future Harvest centers and receives its principal funding from 58 governments, private foundations, and international and regional organizations known as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

---

© Copyright and Fair Use
IFPRI holds the copyright to its publications and web pages but encourages duplication of these materials for noncommercial purposes. Proper citation is required.