ABSTRACT
Agricultural biotechnology has been introduced primarily to meet market needs of farmers in rich countries; there are concerns that this technology will not be appropriate for, or serve the needs of, farmers in the South. One concern lies with the yield-enhancement potential of agricultural biotechnology, a major priority for new crop varieties in the South, due to the modest yield effects from use of transgenic varieties (TGVs) thus far in the North (Altieri, 2001). Other concerns are that TGVs are introduced by private-sector organisations that tend to offer a limited range of choices and that the introduction of TGVs may accelerate loss of crop biodiversity.
