Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.96.980417094646.443A-100000@aces1> Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 10:07:39 -0500 From: Jose Benjamin Falck <mailto:jfalck@ACESAG.AUBURN.EDU> Subject: Re: Seedy Business To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
There are several assumption in the Mother Jones article which may not be correct. The most important one is that newer varieties (regardless if they include the "Terminator" gene or not) will displace traditional varieties.This is not necessarily true.I came back from a conference at CIMMYT where Hugo Perales from US-DAVIS presented his findindgs from Central Mexico. Small farmers in the area have not adopted new corn hybrids in spite of yielding higher at conventional levels than traditional varieties and being recommended by the extension persons at INIAP. Farmers cited grain characteristics, quality, resistance and ability to outperform hybrids at lower levels than hybrids.Varieties planted by farmers in the region where varieties selected by farmers. The Pioneer of this world cannot obtain the necessary economies of scale to justify tailoring corn hybrids and provide the complex characteristics to satisfy small producers around the world. In spite of years of research at CIMMYT and private research companies.
In contrast my own research has shown that modern wheat varieties released by CIMMYT outperform varieties and have a lower risk than tall traditional varieties EVEN at zero fertilization levels. This goes against conventional wisdom.If we include higher resistance to wilt and other pests, higher milling quality and other characteristics, we can see why these varieties have been successful around the world.
The lesson learned from this is that modern varieties will be adopted by farmers only if they provide better returns to farmers. By returns, I do not mean it in the technical economic way, but by addressing all the socio-cultural-political-economic necessities which traditional varieties may address. Regardless of what private companies do, farmers will not adopt new hybrids unless they are better than its competitors.
On the other hand, there are several problems in developing countries (Sigatoka in bananas and Virusses in papayas come to mind) which biotechnology may provide an answer. The only way that we as developing nations will have access to these new technologies is by working through the intellectual property laws and provide innovative negotiations and arrangements to allow us access to these technologies. Arrangements such as direct negotiations between countries and the private sector, or between consortia of nations may provide a starting point.
Sincerely yours,
x++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Jose Benjamin Falck Zepeda Ph.D. Candidate, Graduate Research Assistant Department of Agricultural Economics e-mail: mailto:jfalck@acesag.auburn.edu and Rural Sociology phone: (334) 844-5617 Auburn University, Auburn AL 36849 Fax: (334) 844-5639 ____________________________________________________________________________