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.

The debate on biotechnology focuses on the likely risks instead of objectively assessing the technology on a case-by-case basis to come out with suitable policy implications. This book fills this serious gap by discussing the case of the first biotech product in India, Bt cotton. Focusing on the socioeconomic aspects of agricultural biotechnology rather than the technology, it covers a range of issues relating to the potential and performance of new products and offers valuable suggestions for policy making. After introducing the nature and organization of biotechnology, the patterns of product development are presented. It uses the results of two longitudinal surveys conducted in all the cotton growing agro-climatic zones of Andhra Pradesh and employs a conceptual framework to bring out the performance of this technology.

Contents: Introduction, Bleaching Technologies, Genomic Repression, New Food Crops, Soil Biotechnology, Polluted Soil, Bioinsecticides, Absorption of the Heavy Metal, Biological Removal of Heavy Metals, Biological Treatment of Polluted Soil, Bio- Treatment of Water, Waste Water Treatment, Conserving Plants in Danger, Algal Conservation, Bio-Conservation, Cytokines in Agriculture.

This book presents the first thorough economic analysis of current agricultural biotechnology regulation. The contributors, most of whom are agricultural economists working either in universities or NGOs, address issues such as commercial pesticides, the costs of approving new products, liability, benefits, consumer acceptance, regulation and its impacts, transgenic crops, social welfare implications, and biosafety.

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.

This Book Looks At The Application Of A Variety Of Biotechnologies To Agricultural Development. It Addresses Recent Concerns About The Sterile-Seed Terminator Technology And About The Biosafety Of Genetically Modified Foods/Crops, And Assesses The Potential Of Apomixis As A Possible Countervailing Strategy To The Adverse Effects Of The Terminator, For Some Crops. The Book Introduces The Concepts Of Participatory Plant Breeding And Diversified Site-Or Field Potential To Meet The Needs Of Small-Scale Farmers In Developing Countries Whose Traditional Wisdom And Indigenous Knowledge Can Be Put To Good Use Through Inputs From Modern Biotechnology For The Benefit Fo Humanity. The Text Provides A Valuable Source Of Recent Information Not Only To Researchers Of Agriculture And Biotechnology But Also Meets The Course Requirements Of Students In Agronomy, Genetics And Plant Breeding, Crop Physiology And Related Disciplines In Agriculture, Biotechnology, Food Processing, Nutrition And Home Science. Contents Chapter 1: General Introduction; Definition And Perspective Of Biotechnology, New Technologies, Scope, Potential & Achievements, Introduction To Agriculture, Effects Of Biotechnology On Agrobiodiversity, Biotechnology For Agriculture, Genetic Manipulation In Plant Breeding, Crop Plants, Dangers Of Genetic Uniformity, Preservation And Exchange Of Genetic Resources, Use Of Transgenic Plants In Industry, Agriculture And Medicine, Safeguarding Domestic Animal Diversity Through Animal Husbandry, Advances In Animal Breeding Technology, Animal Byproducts, Transgenic Livestock, Transgenic Sheep And Wool Growth, Genetically-Modified Food, Biotechnology And Sustainable Development, References; Chapter 2: Techniques; Introduction, Plant Tissue Culture And Its Impact On Agriculture, Gene Transfer To Plants, Direct Gene Transfer, Germplasm Storage, Transgenic Plants For Non-Transgenic Crops, Tilling-A Non-Transgenic Approach To Wheat Improvement, Applications Of Bioluminescence And Chemiluminescene, Proprietary Technologies, Genetic Use Restriction Technologies (Gurts), Apomixis, Plant Biotechnology Tools For Developing World, References; Chapter 3: Biodiversity And Agriculture; Introduction, Crop Diversity, The Struggle For Genetic Resources, Double-Green Revolution, Hormones And Green Revolution, Global Climate Change And Biodiversity, Complementarity As Biodiversity Indicator, Genetic Diversity And Gene Control In Rice, Genetic Improvement In Rice, Golden Rice, Reference; Chapter 4: Crop Genetic Resource And Plant Breeding; Introduction, The Genecological Approach, Two Agricultures, Farmer S Rights, Convention On Biological Diversity, Trips, Environmental Rights, Resistance Breeding, Participatory Plant Breeding, Seed Regulation And Local Seed Systems, References; Chapter 5: Biological Nitrogen Fixation; Introduction, Forage Legumes, Alley Cropping, Green Manures And Rice, Crop Residues, Biofertilizers, Plant-Microbe Signalling, Nodulation, And Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation, The Oxygen Paradox, Nodulation Of Cereals, References; Chapter 6: Transgenics Crops And Biosafety; Introduction, Genetically Modified Crops, Improvement Of Grain Quality, Carbon Storage In Seeds, Transgenic Corn, Transgenic Oilseed Rape, Transgenic Linum, Field Testing And Commercialization Of Transgenic Plants, Balancing Risks And Benefits Of Gm Crops, Restrictions On The Right Of Farmers To Save Seed, Crop Genomics, Cereal Improvement Through Genomics, Tramsgemics, Transgenic Plants For Tropical Regions, Biosafety, Biosafety And National Priorities, Contained Use And Release Of Modified Organisms, Forest Tree Biotechnology, Transgenic Trees, References; Chapter 7: Food And Nutrition; Introduction, Biotechnology And Food Security, Global Food Security, Food Politics, Diversity And Food Security, In Situ Conservation, Sustainable Food Security, Eradication Of World Hunger, Food Safety, Future Food Supply Prospects, Global Food Prospects To 2025, Organic Food, Butter, Milk And Dairy Farming, New Biotechnologies For Food Production And Processing, Biotechnology For Alleviating Malnutrition, Community Gene Banks And Sustainable Food Security, Epidemiology Of Malnutrition, Engineering Solutions To Malnutrition, Agricultural Diversification And Human Nutrition, Soybean In Argentina, References; Chapter 8: Management; Introduction, Global Agricultural Sustainability, Mega Agriculture And Sustainable Production, Organic Agriculture, Leisa, The Interactive Bottom-Up Approach, Cereal Production, The Leipzig Commitment, Farmer-Centered Agenda, Precision Agriculture, Production Of Recombinant Proteins In Transgenic Barley Grains, Enhancement Of Natural Plant Defenses, Improving Plant Resistance To Bacterial Diseases Through Genetic Engineering, Livestock Management, Disease Resistance In Farm Animals, Management Of Energy, Nitrogen And Carbon For Food Security, Patenting Of Agricultural Biotechnologies, References.

In the context of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries.