Agbio:a developing story

Abstract

The application of agricultural biotechnology (agbio)* to plant breeding has been a major success, leading to the rapid development of new varieties of food, feed and fibre crops. Over the past two decades, developed countries have dominated agbio research into plant breeding and plantings of GM crops. Yet within a decade or two, developing countries could lead the developed world in the number of hectares (ha) planted to biotech, both GM and non-GM, plant varieties and in agbio research. This finding is one of the conclusions reached in a new report due in April 2009: The bioeconomy to 2030: designing a po/icy agenda, published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).'