Innovation in Agriculture Biotechnology - Essay Example

The potential for human health risks and environmental damage has necessitated the need for the government to monitor and regulate the release of genetically modified (GM) organisms in the environment and the commercialization of GM food products. The Brazilian government uses the precautionary principle in the regulation of biotechnology products. This is with respect to environmental safety and consumer health. The precautionary principle is used when there is a threat of severe damage to human health or the environment.

Innovation in agriculture biotechnology depends on the strength of intellectual property rights. The World Intellectual Property Organization manages and protects international intellectual property and ensures countries commitment to fight biotech piracy. Governments have established transparent judicial mechanisms to enable firms to complain about intellectual property violations and provide resources to the enforcement of property rights (Gaisford and William 61-69). In the U.S, the efficacy and the safety of an agricultural product should be demonstrated to regulatory agencies before it is commercialized.

The agencies also conduct a risk assessment to ensure the safety of GMOs in laboratories or greenhouses (Joyia 20-21) Barriers to green biotechnology The lack of appropriate technology is a great obstacle in the attempt to apply biotechnology to benefit developing countries. This is brought about by technologies being developed in advanced nations and taking time to diffuse to developing countries. Another problem is the issue of intellectual property rights. Companies in advanced nations own most of the patents for green biotech.

These companies have to be adequately compensated in order to allow access to their invention. Other obstacles to green biotech include the lack of marketing mechanism, poverty and disparities between nations, local and regional politics, biosafety issues, limited infrastructure for exploiting biotechnology, and the biotech debate waged in potential donor countries (Acquaah 460). Ways in which Green biotech can be best traded? Most developing countries can adopt transgenic crops to increase food production in the market and bring in more money to the farmer.

Green biotechnology may not be the ultimate solution to hunger and malnutrition, but it can bring about increased environmentally friendly, sustainable and economically profitable agricultural growth. Most developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, for example, have high hopes of producing high yields of transgenic crops to reduce threats to food security. Food insecurity is brought about by drought, insect pest infestation, viral and fungal diseases that result in severe crop loss. The potentiality of agricultural biotechnology in Sub-Saharan countries lies in producing hard crops to withstand the various natural risks.

The sub- Saharan biodiversity resource provides possibilities for developing new genetic traits. These traits can be used in transgenic crops through regulatory processes and well-funded innovative research to create environmentally friendly and new varieties that are harder than existing varieties. Cases of scientific success in developing countries show that green biotech can change the local economy and reduce food security concerns. A famous example of technology beneficial impact on agricultural production is the green revolution.

In Kenya, scientists have developed modified sweet potatoes with increased resistance to parasites giving higher yields. In the US, transgenic crops have boosted farmers’ incomes as yields increases and the cost of fighting crop diseases reduce (Melendez-Ortiz and Vicente 39).

Technologies that provide marginal improvements to existing methods in green biotech are either too costly, difficult to use or even diffuse slowly. Agro-ecological factors such as water availability, climate and soil type also limit the profitability and adaptability of new technologies. Some of the developing agricultural biotechnologies give farmers new opportunities and alternatives to maintain productivity. However, the majority of such new technologies are complex requiring high managerial and human capital skills, which increases the cost of their adoption. Other technology may be economically viable with time but may require substantial capital investment (Joshi 18).

With the aforementioned challenges, governments can pursue two types of programs and policies that encourage the adoption of useful technologies. The government through taxation and regulation can increase the cost or ban the use of environmentally damaging inputs. The government can also provide financial or technical assistance to farmers that adopt the preferred technology. Other methods of improving green biotechnology include cost-sharing and extension education (Joshi 18).