Biotechnology Research Archive
Nature magazine article
Ian Scoones, co-director of the ESRC STEPS Centre and Dominic Glover of the Technology and Agrarian Development Group at Wageningen University explore the fallout of a new book on agricultural biotechnology in Africa. Published in the book reviews section of Nature on August 13 2009
- Full article: GM Crops in Africa (pdf 84kb)
- SciDev.net - GM Crops: still not a panacea for poor farmers, by Dominic Glover, 9 Feb 2010
STEPS Biotechnology newsletter, November 2009
A special edition focusing on our biotechnology work.
Biotechnology archive: 10 years of research in to genetically-modified crops, development and the global food crisis
Genetically-modified (GM) crops are sometimes trumpeted as the solution to the global food crisis, and the route to transforming developing agriculture and reducing poverty for millions. For others they spell doom and disaster, bringing with them unacceptable environmental and safety risks.
But what is the reality? Over the past ten years, GM crops – particularly transgenic insect-resistant crop varieties – have been used widely by farmers in different parts of the developing world. What has been the impact on agricultural production and poverty? What institutional, regulatory and wider policy issues arise?
Our GM+10 project explores these issues by drawing on more than a decade of research from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe as well as highlighting brand new research.
As the world faces a major challenge to feed a growing population, to what degree can GM crops really make a substantive contribution to increasing food production and strengthening livelihood security? Should European governments and aid agencies back a GM-led push towards boosting agricultural production across the world? What governance measures are required in order to ensure that new technologies work for the poor?
The Biotechnology Research Archive
The STEPS biotechnology research archive consists of evidence-based research spanning ten years. A series of core projects, supported by DFID, the ESRC and the Rockefeller Foundation among others, provide the foundation of the archive. But there is much else besides, with some work stretching back to the early 1990s, and recent work focusing on contemporary experiences with GM crops across the world.
The archive is organised into four themes. Click on the links to view each theme:
Theme 1 - Poverty reduction & food security: impacts of GM crops
Theme 2 - Regulating GM crops
Theme 3 - The role of the private sector and corporate control
Theme 4 - Public participation and the politics of policy
Within each theme the archive is split in to one general and several regional sections, covering Africa, China, India and Latin America.
New publications
STEPS Working Paper 15: Bt Cotton
Undying Promise: Agricultural Biotechnology’s Pro-poor Narrative, Ten Years on (pdf 903kb)
Dominic Glover
STEPS Briefing 15: Bt Cotton
Transgenic cotton: A 'pro-poor' success? (pdf 246kb)
Dominic Glover
STEPS Working Paper 11: GM Crops
Made by Monsanto: the Corporate Shaping of GM Crops as a Technology for the Poor (pdf 447kb)
Dominic Glover
STEPS briefing 11: GM Crops
GM Crops - a 'pro-poor' technology?
Dominic Glover
Order copies of our papers from the IDS bookshop cost £5.00
All STEPS Centre publications are licenced under a
Creative Commons Licence.
Launch event - GM Crops and the Global Food Crisis
The STEPS Biotechnology Research Archive was launched at a Dangerous Ideas in Development event in Parliament on June 10 2009, organised by IDS and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Debt, Aid and Trade.
Podcast: GM Crops and the Global Food Crisis event, June 10
Photos from GM Crops event in Parliament
Related research and events
- "How might agricultural biotechnology help poor farmers in Developing Countries?" Presentation by Erik Millstone to the Royal Society of Chemistry and Institute for Food Science & Technology, February 2010
- id21 Viewpoints: GM Crops
- Eldis Biotechnology & Development Key Issues Guide
- Erik Millstone on the Ethics of GM Crop Development (presentation on Slideshare)
- STEPS Agriculture and Food research
- Innovation, Sustainability, Development: A New Manifesto
- Upcoming events
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GMO Trial, Cotton farm, South Africa / Brasil2 / iStockphoto |
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