More than 30 years after the green revolution brought new, high yielding cultivars to farmers in developing countries, rural poverty and low food intake still plague many countries throughout the world. Many people question the role of agricultural research in alleviating poverty, arguing that it favors wealthy farmers over poorer farmers and laborers. On the other hand, the record shows that research-led technical improvements have contributed to a three-fold increase in food production in developing countries, helping avert what some observers had predicted would be chronic, widespread famine throughout the developing world.

This paper reviews the literature on the subject of the role of improved agricultural technology in alleviating poverty in developing countries. Focusing primarily on improved cultivars produced by the international agricultural research system, it shows how new technology combines with other socioeconomic and institutional factors to determine poverty alleviation outcomes. Technology’s role in alleviating poverty is both indirect and partial; technology alone cannot overcome poverty, nor can continued poverty be blamed on improved technology.

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