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.
N. Chandrasekhara Rao is an associate professor at the Center for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) and his areas of research interest include agricultural and development economics, poverty reduction, and the labor market. S. Mahendra Dev is chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices based in New Delhi and is a former director for CESS. He has written extensively on agricultural development, poverty and public policy, food security, employment guarantee schemes, social security, farm and nonfarm employment. He has been a consultant to many international organizations, including the World Bank, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).