Biotechnology offers an opportunity for lowering the manufacture cost of products by reducing the dependence on conventional energy resource, increasing productivity in agriculture and other areas and remedying the environmental pollution problems.
Research and development would bring significant economic development benefits to the developing countries. The cost of recombinant insulin is much less in comparison to the one extracted from the slaughter house pancreas.
It would boost the economy by earning foreign currency through export. However, there is a fear that biotechnology would widen the gap between the rich and poor countries and also between the rich and poor among the developing countries.
Two reasons may be accounted for this negative impact. Firstly, the trained human resource input is confined only to the laboratory experiments without an exposure to the practical field of application. Secondly! Biotechnology products and processes are patented in developed countries.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
This has stimulated private investment in research. Some developing countries have financial management under the absolute control of the government. They do not encourage private investment in research. Whatever research is being undertaken is funded by the public sector.
Due to a poor financial situation, there is a meager funding in research and therefore, research and development is confined to the traditional biotechnology. Even basic biotechnology techniques such as plant tissue culture and elementary gene manipulation are very expensive.
The implications are very clear. The cost of expenditure of the experiments and the entry of private sector into this area of business has restricted biotechnology research and development in the developing countries.
In order to gain an access to biotechnology and adapt the technology to the local conditions, the developing countries, first of all need to strengthen the base of research and development in traditional disciplines.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Further, in the developing countries, there has been a tendency to spread the public sector investments over a large number of institutions, rather than developing a few quality institutions. This has weakened the technology transfer and hence, reduced the ability to adapt to the local conditions. The private sectors invest in those areas, where there is a substantial profit.
Lastly, biotechnology offers a potential for the substitution in end products. This could reduce the export from the developing countries.
The General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) negotiations has failed on reducing agricultural protection in the developing world. This would weaken the economy further. For example the liquid maize sweetener has replaced about 50% of the consumed sugar in USA. This sugar is exported by the developing countries.
The support price of sugar is high in USA to protect the sugar industry of the developing world. This and the failure of GATT negotiations have encouraged for substituting the sugar by the liquid sweetener.