Developing Country Experience with Bt Cotton: Institutional Constraints in the Diffusion of Transgenic Crops

Abstract

Results from a recent study that examined the performance of transgenic, insect-resistant cotton in four countries (China, India, Colombia and South Africa) are used to examine the adequacy of the institutions required to support the development and delivery of transgenic crops for resource-poor farmers. These institutions include the formal seed sector, the basic regulations that support it, conventional agricultural research and the provision of information to farmers. The paper argues that inadequacies in these institutions in many developing countries represent significant barriers to the hopes for a rapid uptake of transgenic crops.