Biotechnology can bring major breakthroughs in agriculture. The book examines the experience of introduction of biotechnology in Indian agriculture, specifically, examining the performance of Bt cotton versus non-Bt cotton across India’s major cotton states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which together account for nearly 70 percent of the country’s cotton production. Major advances in biotechnology have made it possible to directly identify genes, determine their functions, and transfer them from one organism to another. The advances have spawned many technologies and Bt cotton is one important outcome. Bt cotton has become one of the most widely cultivated transgenic crops and is currently grown in 21 countries - 11 developing and 10 industrialized countries. The Government of India was relatively late in permitting biotechnology, only approving the cultivation of three transgenic Bt cotton hybrids from April 2002. Many concerns were raised about their performance there was strong opposition from some quarters. In India, Gujarat and Maharastra were the first states to adopt them, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. Based on a sample of 694 farming households, the book examines and analyzes the performance on the yields, pesticide costs, seed costs, overall production costs and profits. It also reports on the environmental impacts, satisfaction with the technology and ways of improving its performance.

Worldwide energy and food crises are spotlighting the importance of bio-based products - an area many are calling on for solutions to these shortages. Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology encapsulates the cutting-edge advances in the field with contributions from more than 50 international experts comprising sectors of academia, industry, an

Describes the economic, scientific, and social factors that will influence the future of biotechnology in agriculture. Shows that both private and public sector R&D are contributing significantly to the development of biotechnologies. A review of 23 published studies on the subject.

Transgenic crops offer the promise of increased agricultural productivity and better quality foods. But they also raise the specter of harmful environmental effects. In this new book, a panel of experts examines: • Similarities and differences between crops developed by conventional and transgenic methods • Potential for commercialized transgenic crops to change both agricultural and nonagricultural landscapes • How well the U.S. government is regulating transgenic crops to avoid any negative effects. Environmental Effects of Transgenic Plants provides a wealth of information about transgenic processes, previous experience with the introduction of novel crops, principles of risk assessment and management, the science behind current regulatory schemes, issues in monitoring transgenic products already on the market, and more. The book discusses public involvementâ€"and public confidenceâ€"in biotechnology regulation. And it looks to the future, exploring the potential of genetic engineering and the prospects for environmental effects.

Between 1973 and 2016, the ways to manipulate DNA to endow new characteristics in an organism (that is, biotechnology) have advanced, enabling the development of products that were not previously possible. What will the likely future products of biotechnology be over the next 5â€"10 years? What scientific capabilities, tools, and/or expertise may be needed by the regulatory agencies to ensure they make efficient and sound evaluations of the likely future products of biotechnology? Preparing for Future Products of Biotechnology analyzes the future landscape of biotechnology products and seeks to inform forthcoming policy making. This report identifies potential new risks and frameworks for risk assessment and areas in which the risks or lack of risks relating to the products of biotechnology are well understood.

In this book, Florence Wambugu and Daniel Kamanga of Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International bring together expert African authorities to critique various biotechnology initiatives and project future developments in the field in Africa. For the first time, African voices from multidisciplinary fields as diverse as economics, agriculture, biotechnology, law, politics and academia, demand to be allowed to set the continent’s biotech development agenda. This book argues that there is a great future for biotechnology in Africa which sidesteps western interests that do not match those of the local populace. In these diverse chapters, Africa’s political and scientific leaders demand a greater say in how research and development funds are allocated and spent. They argue that Africa’s political leaders must see both clear benefits and have elbow-room to drive the change required. This is the way that African governments can employ workable policies, suitable biosafety legislation and regulation and respond effectively to public-private partnerships. Wambugu and Kamanga show that biotechnology has the potential to improve food security and standard of living as well as mitigate the detrimental effects of climate change on the African continent.

The often-confrontational debate over the development of agricultural and pharmaceutical products made with the help of genetic modification has drastically limited the exploitation of this still new technology. This book focuses on the risk and rewards of genetic modification, the differing paths the dialogue on GM has followed in Europe and the developing world in contrast to the United States, how the debate impacts the commercial realities of companies developing new products, and what strategies might foster more constructive discussion over the costs and benefits of genetic manipulation to bring about more rational and internationally coordinated public policy.