VALUING PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES: AN ECONOMIC MODEL OF UTILIZATION OF THE U.S. NATIONAL CROP GERMPLASM COLLECTION

Exploration of a germplasm collection for a particular trait is viewed as a search within a given distribution. An optimal strategy would be to search and collect additional accessions for traits as long as expected benefit is greater or equal to the cost of collecting, conserving and testing it. The probability of finding a desirable trait depends on the number of accessions that are screened for the trait, and the distribution of that trait in the collection or in certain subcollections. This study will estimate the expected net return from an additional search opportunity in regard to several pest resistance traits for soybeans both when the additional accession is from the existing collection, and when it is newly acquired.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Ex-ante Impact Assessment of GM-Papaya Adoption in Thailand.

Despite the evidences of benefits from GM papayas adoption in other countries, concerns over the loss of export markets and health and environmental risks have led to great uncertainty and indecision about policies to support biotechnology in Thailand. Since 2001, field trials have been banned and the use of transgenic plants for production, consumption, or commercialization has been prohibited, but this ban is currently being reconsidered. This study estimates what the economic impact of the adoption of GM papaya would be if Thailand were to authorize the use of transgenic technology. We find that papaya farmers will benefit significantly from improved yields and even with no cost reduction.GM papaya, ex-ante assessment, Thailand

PEOPLE LEFT BEHIND: TRANSITIONS OF THE RURAL POOR

Compared to their urban counterparts, the rural poor are more likely to be employed, more apt to be members of married-couple families, less likely to be children, less likely to be minority, and more likely to have assets but a negative income. This paper examines poverty rates and factors that affect mobility in and out of poverty among major categories of the rural poor. Particular attention is paid to farm workers and the rural farm population in the South. It endeavors to identify both structural conditions that perpetuate rural poverty and government interventions that ameliorate human suffering and break the cycle of poverty reproduction.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

International Collaboration in Crop Improvement Research: Current Status and Future Prospects

Investments over the past 35 years have created a system of national and international research centers that has revolutionized the supply of improved cereal varieties to developing country farmers. The newly created scientific ability to exploit genetic resources has been the engine of productivity growth in much of world agriculture. But the success that has been attained in building research institutions has not touched all countries or farmers, nor can it be considered permanent. The financial and political environment of the past decade has halted the expansion of agricultural research capacity and the scarcity of research resources and evolving world intellectual property rights (IPR) regimes complicates the search for stable arrangements for cooperation. This paper examines the current structure and institutional capacity of the international crop breeding systems for rice and wheat. Discussions are presented within the context of a system composed of research functions spanning the basic to applied research spectrum. The model emphasizes that an efficient and stable international system may be comprised of many partner institutions, each with a limited breadth of research activities, particularly when research budgets are fixed or declining. The paper concludes with a review of some of the trends that will influence the future direction of research cooperation.Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Poverty, Language, and Participation in Non-Farm Labor Markets in Rural Paraguay

Paraguay is a society comprised of two vastly different populations. One population is urban, Spanish speaking, educated and employed in the formal sector. The other is rural, speaks Guaraní, has little schooling, and is self-employed. This paper examines rural labor markets in Paraguay. The effect of deficiencies in social services on participation in non-farm labor and household income is identified.Labor and Human Capital,

Winners and Losers: Formula versus Competitive Funding of Agricultural Research

Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, O3, O4, Q16,

Winners and Losers: Formula versus Competitive Funding of Agricultural Research

State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAESs) were established with federal formula funding by the Hatch Act of 1887. In 1955, the Hatch Act was amended and a number of subsequent formula funding programs were consolidated under the USDA Cooperative States Research Service (CSRS), which today is known as the Cooperative Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES). Currently, all of the Hatch funds and a small amount of other formula funds go to SAESs. In 1977, CSRS established its first competitive research grant program. However, this program remained quite small until 1990, when it was re-named the National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grants Program with a much larger funding authorization. Currently, the SAESs account for 60% of U.S. public agricultural research, with 7% of SAESs funding obtained from Hatch funds and 2.3% from NRI Grant funds (Huffman & Evenson, 2006b, pp. 107, 117- 118). Hence, the SAES system has become relatively diversified in its funding sources after starting with only Hatch funding

Ex-ante Impact Assessment of GM Papaya Adoption in Thailand

Despite the evidence of benefits from GM papaya's adoption in other countries, concerns over the loss of export markets and health and environmental risks have led to great uncertainty and indecision about policies to support biotechnology in Thailand. Since 2001, field trials have been banned and the use of transgenic plants for production, consumption, or commercialization has been prohibited. Field trials in government fields were reinstated in December 2007, but agricultural biotechnology policies remain unclear. This article estimates what the economic impact of the adoption of GM papaya would be if Thailand were to authorize the use of GM technology.Financial support of this study was received from CropLife (Thailand) and the Biotechnology Alliance Association

Balancing basic, genetic enhancement and cultivar development research in an evolving US plant germplasm system

The structure of the United States (U.S.) public-private plant genetic research system is being transformed by the emergence of practical biotechnology protocols for creating transgenic plants; and by strengthened intellectual property protection in plants. This paper draws on some simple principles of incentives and appropriability to discuss the sharing of research responsibilities between the public and private sectors.Includes bibliographical reference

Assessing the prospects for the transfer of genetically modified crop varities to developing countries

Although genetically modified varieties (GMVs) have been commercially successful in the United States (U.S.), their future in developing countries (DCs) with smaller markets is uncertain. How likely is it that relatively small countries will gain access to GMV technology? Will the dominance of biotechnology by multinational firms make GMV technology too expensive for small DCs? In this paper we attempt to draw lessons from the U.S. experience to speculate on the prospects for developing countries to gain access to GMV technology. We conclude that small countries could be attractive markets for life science and seed companies if biosafety and intellectual property systems become institutionalized.Includes bibliographical reference