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Plant biotechnology and developing countries

Gary H. Toenniessen

Over the next half century, crop production in developing countries must more than

double. Plant biotechnology, applied through the international agricultural research

system, can help to ensure that the necessary increases in production are

achieved, that they are sustainable and that they will benefit the vast majority of

food producers and consumers in developing countries with limited purchasing

power.

The developing countries of the world are faced with the dual challenge of a rapidly growing population and an increasingly scarce and threatened agricultural resource base. About 700 million of the 4.5 billion people currently living in the developing world suffer from undernutrition and, by the year 2025, farmers in these countries will need to produce sufficient food at affordable prices for over 2.5 billion more people’. While increased food production alone can not solve the hunger problem, it is an essential requirement. Moreover, the agricultural sector is so large in most of these countries that growth in agriculture is the most effective, and often the only viable, strategy for achiev- ing the overall economic growth that can help to reduce poverty. For example, in China and India, over 60% of the population is employed in agriculture, and this percentage is even higher in most of Africa2. The highest fertility rates exist in the rural areas of these countries, and hundreds of millions of additional people will join those already dependent on agri- culture for their livelihood.

While the feasibility of meeting the food and employment needs of these rapidly growing popu- lations over the next three decades has been ques- tioned by some (for example, see Ref. 3), there is no doubt that significant increases in total crop produc- tion will occur as more and more farmers attempt to meet their own needs and attempt to generate income. It is not so much a question of if, but rather of how, total food production will be increased. Which com- bination of natural resources, family labor, purchased inputs, science, technology and management skills will farmers in developing countries employ as they strive to increase crop production? Plant biotechnology has the potential to help shift the balance towards a greater use of science, technology and informed manage- ment, and towards the more efficient use of inputs and the sustainable use of natural resources. Harnessing the power of biotechnology and directing it toward these

G. H. Toenniersen is at The Rockefeller Foundation, 420 Fgth Avenue, New York, NY 10018-2702, USA.

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objectives will require effective technology transfer at a reasonable cost. Developing countries must have suf- ficient biotechnology capacity to integrate these new tools and products within the public-sector plant- research and crop-improvement programs that serve the vast majority of farmers who have small holdings and limited purchasing power.

In several developing countries, there is also an emerging private-sector crop-biotechnology industry that produces hybrid seeds for commercial farmers; micropropagation is also used to produce seedlings of horticultural crops for domestic sale and export. However, the current molecular biology research capability of these companies is limited, and they draw heavily on technical advances generated in the public sector, or by foreign partners.

Building on a solid foundation Fortunately, there is an international system of

publicly supported agricultural research institutions that has a significant record ofaccomplishment in pro- ducing and delivering improved crop varieties to farmers in developing countries. Apart from sub-Saharan Africa, where the conventional plant-breeding strat- egies of national agricultural research agencies still need strengthening, the key components of this system are already in place and provide a sound foundation for bringing the benefits of plant biotechnology to most developing countries. Improved cultivars generated by this system already account for over 70% of the area planted to rice and wheat in Asia and, over the past 20 years, the proportion of this region’s population affected by undernutrition has declined from about 40% to 20% (Ref. 4). Steady progress is also being made with maize, sorghum, millet, potatoes, cassava, beans, cowpeas, chickpeas and groundnuts.

These public-sector institutions are strengthening their capacity for molecular biology and experiment- ing with strategies for combining this effectively with plant breeding. They often collaborate with plant biotechnology research programs in industrialized countries, including those in the corporate sector. In

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Table 1. Crop-focused international agricultural research centers (IARCs)

International center

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)

Centro lnternacional de Mejoramiento de Maize y Trigo (CIMMYT)

Centro lnternacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT)

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

Centro lnternacional de la Papa (CIP)

International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA)

Asian Vegetable Research & Development Center (AVRDC)

West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA)

Program focus

Rice

Maize, wheat, triticale

Cassava, tropical forages, field beans, rice

Cassava, cowpea, soybean, yams, maize, plantain

Sorghum, groundnut, pigeon pea, millet, chickpea

Potatoes, sweet potatoes

Wheat, chickpea, pasture legumes, lentils, barley

Chinese cabbage, mung bean, sweet potatoes, tomato, soybean

Rice

Headquarters location

Philippines

Mexico

Colombia

Nigeria

India

Peru

Syria

Taiwan

Ivory Coast

addition to numerous national crop-research programs with strong plant-breeding capabilities, the system includes the relevant units of large multilateral agencies within the United Nations, such as the Food and Agri- culture Organization (FAO), and a variety of bilateral programs; other participants include a group of inter- national agricultural research centers (IARCs) located in developing countries that can focus on the genetic improvement of specific crops, and several new organiz- ations specifically committed to the safe transfer of plant biotechnologies to developing countries (Tables 1 and 2). This loosely integrated collection of national and international institutions (Fig. 1) draws on ad- vanced research worldwide, conducts strategic and applied research, facilitates technology transfer, assists national research efforts when necessary, and delivers advanced technology to farmers in the form of improved seed. The Consultative Group on Inter- national Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which has its Secretariat at The World Bank, helps co-ordinate this effort. The CGIAR includes most of the donors and many of the institutions that are committed to the application of plant biotechnologies in developing countries, and they meet periodically as a subgroup to share information and to foster collaboration.

Despite its significant successes, this international network still faces difficult challenges. There are many farmers, located mostly in Africa and the marginal land areas of Latin America and Asia, who have not yet ben- efitted from the research. In part, this is because of the difficulty of producing improved varieties for highly variable land areas with limited agronomic potential, and because of the need for much more on-farm research to develop sustainable cropping systems that

allow improved varieties to perform well under local conditions. In addition, in several densely populated countries of Asia where high-yield varieties are widely used, there is no land left for agricultural expansion, and farmers have already pushed production of the currently available varieties close to their maximum potential. Success in meeting these challenges will depend on the discovery of new knowledge and the development and careful use of new yield-enhancing and resource-conserving technologies. Combined with the broader application and better adaptation of existing technologies, this will allow crop production to be intensified on a sustainable basis.

National plant-biotechnology programs The developing countries vary greatly in their

capacity to conduct plant biotechnology research. However, even the smaller countries that cannot afford large research establishments can benefit from advances in crop biotechnology through international linkages, as long as they have the capacity to multiply and disseminate improved seed material. For cereals, seed multiplication is relatively straightforward, but for vegetatively propagated crops, such as cassava, pota- toes, yams, plantains and bananas, the process is more difficult; biotechnology has much to offer in these cases. Tissue-culture-based micropropagation pro- cedures are well established for most vegetatively propagated crops. When used properly, these tech- niques eliminate pests and pathogens, including viruses, and enable disease-free seedlings of improved cultivars to be mass produced and disseminated to farmers. In some Asian countries, micropropa- gation is widely used and, in a few, it is the basis of an

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Table 2. International organizationsa facilitating the transfer of plant biotechnologies to developing countries

International organization Description

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Rome, Italy

Conducts research on and facilitates transfer of plant biotechnologies that can benefit developing countries through its Plant Production and Protection Division in Rome, its regional offices and the Joint FAO/lAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture in Vienna.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Conducts collaborative research with national agencies and provides Vienna, Austria training in mutation breeding and other plant biotechnologies through

the Joint FAO/lAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture.

International Laboratory for Tropical An advanced-research laboratory, developed through a collaboration Agricultural Biotechnology (ILTAB), between the Scripps Research Institute and the French technical La Jolla, CA, USA assistance organization ORSTOM, which conducts research and offers

training on development of disease resistant tropical plants through genetic engineering.

International Center for Genetic Originally established by the United Nations Industrial Development Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Organization and now an independent research and training Trieste, Italy and New Delhi, India organization with crop biotechnology programs in New Delhi and

information dissemination provided through Trieste.

Center for the Application of Molecular A research and technology transfer organization specializing in the Biology to International Agriculture production and dissemination of inexpensive biotechnology tools that (GAMBIA), Canberra, Australia can be employed in developing countries.

International Service for the Acquisition An international organization committed to the acquisition and transfer of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), of proprietary agricultural biotechnologies from the industrial countries Ithaca, NY, USA for the benefit of the developing world.

Intermediary Biotechnology Service (IBS), A unit of the International Service for National Agricultural Research The Hague, The Netherlands which provides national agricultural research agencies with

information, advice, and assistance to help strengthen their biotechnology capacities.

Biotechnology Advisory Commission A unit of the Stockholm Environment Institute that provides biosafety (BAC), Stockholm, Sweden advice and helps developing countries assess the possible

environmental, health, and socioeconomic impacts of proposed biotechnology introductions.

Technical Center for Agricultural and A unit of the European Union that collects, disseminates and Rural Development (CTA), Wageningen, facilitates exchange of information on research innovations The Netherlands including plant biotechnologies for the benefit of Asian, Caribbean

and Pacific States.

International Institute for Co-operation in Assists countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with policy issues Agriculture (IICA), San Jose, Costa Rica related to biotechnology including the formulation and harmonization

of biosafety procedures.

aInternatIonal organizations that are primarily funders are not included in this list.

emerging industry. However, for much of Africa, further investments in facilities and trained people are needed in order to take advantage of this proven technology.

Most of the developing countries that have strong crop-breeding programs are establishing plant biotech- nolo&y research centers within their agricultural research agencies (Box 1). Quite appropriately, these national centers tend to focus on applying biotech- nology in crop breeding, and most already have the capacity to use marker-aided selection. Molecular genetic maps and markers have been developed for essentially all the major crops, as well as for many

minor crops. These centers can obtain the necessary training, materials, tools and information through the international network to apply the results of genome research to the genetic improvement of crops. For example, scientists can select from over 2000 mapped DNA markers in rice; these are available from Cornell University in the USA (Ref. 5) or the Rice Genome Research Program (RGP) in Tsukuba, Japanh. Core collections of these markers, and training in their use, are available from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, the Centro lnternacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) in Colombia, and the International Center for Genetic

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rl

Fundamental research: universities and institutes

Biotechnology

FAO, IARCs corporations

Development assistance

::; . ,

agencies

IBS, CTA I BAC, IICA

National crop improvement programs and extension

agencies, NGOs

t

Farmers

Figure 1 Schematic view of the biotechnology international agricultural research system. Abbreviations: ILTAB, International Laboratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology; ICGEB, International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology; CAMBIA, Center for the Application of Molecular Biology to International Agriculture; IAEA, International Atomic Energy Agency; FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; IARCs, international agricultural research centers; IBS, Intermediary Biotechnology Service; CTA, Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Development; BAC, Biotechnology Advisory Commrssion; IICA, International Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture; NGOs, non-governmental organizations.

Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in New Delhi, India. Scientists all over the world can access genomic databases for important crops via the Internet; this service is supported by the United States Department ofAgriculture, the RGP in Japan and the European Union. The RiceGenes Database at Cornell is rapidly becoming one of the most extensive collec- tions of genomic information that is available for any organism.

As the genetic engineering of major crops becomes more routine, through particle bombardment and Agrobticterium-based protocols, the national centers are establishing the capacity to incorporate this technol- ogy into their breeding programs. Many have obtained useful vectors, protocols and technical assistance from the Center for Application of Molecular Biology in International Agriculture (CAMBIA) located in Canberra, Australia’ and the International Lab- oratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology (ILTAB) in La Jolla, CA, USA. These crop research centers will have a distinct advantage over many other genetic engineering laboratories in that they will be able to evaluate, as well as generate, transgenic lines.

In several larger developing countries, the capacity for plant biotechnology research was initially estab- lished at public-sector institutions that had talent and experience in the relevant laboratory sciences, but no such expertise in plant breeding or field research. Good progress has been made, and the task ahead is to develop integrated national programs that facilitate the flow of technology from the laboratory to the field.

For example, excellent plant molecular biology research facilities have been established in Mexico at the Irapuato Unit of the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV-IPN) and in Cuernavaca at the Research Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and the Center of Investigation on Nitrogen Fixation, both of which are part of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. These laboratory-based research centers have good inter- national links and, through collaborative research, the group at Irapuato have genetically engineered three Mexican potato varieties with genes for resistance to viral pathogens. Initial testing of these transgenic pota- toes looks promising, but neither the Irapuato Unit nor any other CINVESTAV Institute has the ability

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Box 1. Crop biotechnology centers of national agricultural research agencies

Biotechnology Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China. Fax: 86 1 831 6545 Director: Fan Yunliu

Biotechnology Centre, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India. Fax: 91 11 574 0722 Director: V. L. Chopra

National Centre for Research on Genetic Resources and Biotechnology,

EMPRABA, Brasilia, Brazil. Fax: 55 61 274 3212 Research Director: Maria Jose Amstalden Moraes Sampaio

Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Giza, Egypt. Fax: 20 2 629 519 Director: Magdy A. Madkour

Biotechnology Division, Central Research Institute for Food Crops, Bogor, Indonesia. Fax: 62 251 312 755 Director: Sugiono Moeljopawiro

Institute of Agricultural Genetics, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries, Hanoi, Vietnam. Fax: 84 4 343 196 Director: Tran Duy Quy

Biotechnology Center, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute,

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Fax: 60 3 948 3664 Director: Mohamed Senawi Dato’ Mohamed Tamin

or responsibility to carry out multi-site field testing. Such research is the responsibility of the National Institute of Forest, Agricultural and Livestock Kesearch within the Ministry OfAgriculture. An integrated pro- gram that delivers useful products to farmers will require cross-ministerial co-operation; and a collabo- rative project is being formulated. Hopefully, it can serve as a model for crop improvement projects that draw on the full spectrum of Mexico’s scientific talent.

In India, a Department ofBiotechnology (DBT) was established in 1986 within the Ministry ofscience and Technology; this had responsibility for planning, sup- porting and co-ordinating the development ofbiotech- nology capabilities and programs. The DBT has estab- lished Centers for Plant Molecular Biology at six locations: Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, Madurai Kamraj University in Madurai, the National Botanical Research Institute in Lucknow, Osmania

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University in Hyderabad and Bose Institute in Calcutta. While only the Center at Tamil Nadu is part of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), the DBT has also supported individual projects at other ICm research institutes as part of its competitive-grants program, and it has helped to estab- lish nationwide biotechnology programs focused on rice, brassicas and cotton. In addition, the ICAR has invested in developing the biotechnology capacity at its own research institutes and universities. By bring- ing scientists working on the same crop or on similar topics together at annual meetings, the DBT and ICAR have helped to generate collaborations that stretch across ministerial boundaries. The develop- ment of systems for producing economical hybrid rice seed and transgenic cotton that is resistant to pests and does not require the intensive use of insecticides are two co-ordinated programs where good progress is being made, and which should have a major impact on Indian agriculture.

Similarly, the China National Center for Biotech- nology Development, the National Biotechnology Programme of Brazil and the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Thailand are national funding agencies that have helped to build plant biotechnology research capacities across a spec- trum of institutions. Each is now faced with the task of incorporating this capacity into co-ordinated national programs that can contribute to agricultural development.

An Intermediary Biotechnology Service (IBS), which acts as an independent advisor on matters of research management and policy to agricultural research agencies from developing countries, has been established at the International Service for National Agricultural Research in the Netherlands. The IBS produces reports and databases, organizes workshops, assists in developing collaborations, and provides advice designed to help developing countries make effective use of crop biotechnologies.

Technology transfer, intellectual property and biosafety

Free exchange of materials and information has traditionally been the hallmark of the international agricultural research system and is the key to its suc- cess. The genetic improvement of plants is a deriva- tive process, in which each enhancement is based directly on preceding generations, and the process of adding value requires access to the plant material itself. Most important food crops originated in developing countries, and much of the value in today’s seeds has been added over the centuries as farmers have selected their best plants as the source of seed for the next crop. These land races and other sources ofbiodiversity have been provided free of charge to the world community by developing countries. National and international research centers add value by breeding, and the mod- ern varieties they generate are widely distributed. The elite breeding lines that are now being released by the international centers are the product of decades of

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accumulating useful genes from numerous countries. For example, the pedigree of the elite breeding line of rice, IR 72, is based on 22 land races and 65 varieties or breeding lines from China, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and the USA (Ref. 8). The cultivars resulting from the research are distributed as improved seed to farmers by national agencies, and occasionally by nongovernmental aid organizations at no, or minimal, cost. Smaller countries often borrow finished varieties that have been developed by their larger neighbors. For self- pollinating crops, such as rice and wheat, the genetic make-up of new varieties is relatively stable over many generations, and farmers themselves have contributed significantly to seed multiplication and its broad-scale distribution. For example, about 60% of the total seed requirements of Indian farmers is estimated to be met by this ‘inter-farmer’ trade”.

However, in industrial countries, applied crop- biotechnology research and the production of im- proved seeds are increasingly becoming functions of the ‘for-profit’ sector. Over the past decade, this has led to a significant increase in the total research effort that has been committed to plant sciences and crop improvement, but the results are now often protected under various forms of intellectual property rights, including patents, plant breeders’ rights, and trade secrets. Even public-sector plant scientists in these countries are now encouraged by their home institu- tions and governments and, in some cases, their own self interest, to seek intellectual property rights for their inventions and to license technology to the cor- porate sector. Individual plant scientists may not even have control over who they can share their discov- eries and breeding materials with. Much sharing for research purposes does still occur, but the results are often encumbered by one or more material-transfer agreements, which restrict further distribution and commercialization. Consequently, the international agricultural research system can no longer expect to have ready and free access to the results of strategic and applied crop research that is carried out at uni- versities and other public-sector research institutions. In the future, much of what the international system needs from industrialized countries will be proprietary property in those countries. Special arrangements will often have to be made to gain access to the tech- nology, particularly if further dissemination is antici- pated. The recently established International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) was designed to serve as an ‘honest broker’ that facilitates transfers of proprietary agricultural biotechnologies from the industrial countries to the developing world. The ISAAA has arranged several such transfers, is working on others and, in the pro- cess, is learning how to structure agreements that benefit all parties.

In addition, many developing countries are rethink- ing their own policies and creating systems for pro- tecting intellectual property and, in some cases, for marketing genetic resources. This is partly because of

their desire to join international trade organizations that require such protection, but also because of the increased interest of pharmaceutical companies in biodiversity prospecting.

While many within the international agricultural research system are unhappy or uncomfortable with all of these new proprietary arrangements, the days of the unencumbered free exchange of genetic materials are no doubt over. The task ahead is to develop new insti- tutional mechanisms that allow the international sys- tem to gain access to the results of the increased invest- ments in crop research that have been generated by the perceived profit potential ofbiotechnology. At the same time, it will be necessary to maintain the ability to deliver low-cost, high-value seeds to poor farmers, and to ensure that crop germplasm can continue to be distributed and shared among the developing coun- tries without restrictions.

As with any powerful new technology, the genetic engineering of plants must be carried out wisely and carefully. To ensure this, most governments have effected, or are in the process of formulating, biosafety regulations that cover experimentation with, and dissemination of, transgenic plants. The international agricultural research system is concerned with these issues and, where necessary, is helping developing countries to implement biosafety systems that are workable, effective and based on rigorous scientific evaluation. The Biotechnology Advisory Com- mission, established within the Stockholm Environ- ment Institute, provides biosafety advice, and is pre- pared to help developing countries assess the possible environmental, health and socioeconomic impacts of proposed biotechnologies.

Conclusions Plant biotechnology can help developing countries

meet their rapidly increasing demand for more food and contribute to their economic development. To realize this potential, cro!? biotechnology research capacities are being established and strengthened at the national level and within international agricultural research centers. New strategies are also being for- mulated and tested for developing more-effective col- laborations between the network of public-sector institutions and the expanding crop-biotechnology industry.

References 1 Bongaarts, J. (1994) Science 263, 771-776 2 Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (1994) Producfion

Yearbook 1993, Vol. 47, FAO, Rome 3 Brown, L. R. and Kane H. (1994) Full House, W. W. Norton 4 World Health Organization (1992) Second Report I$ the World

Nutrition Sitrration, Vol. 1, Global and Rgiorxd Results, WHO, Geneva 5 Cause M. ef al. (1994) Genetics 138, 1251-1274 6 Kurata, N. et al. (1994) &Tat. Gcwef. 8, 365-372 7 McElroy, D., Chamberlain, D. A., Moon, E. and Wilson, K. J. (1995)

Mol. Breed. 1, 27-37 8 Chnspeels, M. J. and Sadava, D. E. (1994) Planfs, Genes md A+

culture, pp. 304-305, Jones and Bartlett 9 Alam, G. (1994) Biofechnoloyy and Susfainable Apiculfure: L~~~sfrurn

India, OECD Technical Paper No. 103, OECD, Paris

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