ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys the work in several fields relating to the economics of managing genetic resources for agriculture. Most fundamentally, this is a problem relating to inherent ecological dynamics in agriculture. Ever since agriculture was first developed, there has been a race implicit within it, with pests and pathogens eroding the resistance of the crop varieties currently in use and new varieties being devised to replace them. In ecological terms, the stable dynamics witnessed in agriculture are known as a 'Red Queen' race. It is necessary to continue to make moves in order to stand. Expected (average) yield is the fundamental criterion used in the determination of the vast majority of crop choice and land use decisions. The beneficial effect of this criterion is unquestionable. One example of the aggregate impact has been the 'green revolution', the increase in worldwide grain yields at a rate of nearly 3 per cent per annum over a period of 30 years.
