| Many agricultural and food security experts believe that biotechnology has potential to assist developing country farmers in meeting current and future food needs. Most of the tools of biotechnology have been developed, however, by companies, governments, and universities in industrialized nations; are the subject of U.S. patents; and have so far been applied commercially to address the needs of large-scale growers in the United States and other developed countries. For commercial and other reasons, applications of biotechnology that might benefit developing country farmers are unlikely in the foreseeable future to be developed and disseminated through commercial channels. At the same time, noncommercial, public sector researchers report that their access... |
