Economical Implications of Biotechnology

The use of genetically engineered crops has raised much concern from an economic perspective. Since the research and development of genetically engineered organisms is a very costly process, companies developing those products need to cover their endured costs by ensuring that their technology is patented and protected from illegal appropriation. Since the reproduction of plants is a natural process, it is a rather challenging task to invent a method that would only confer the benefits of genetically modified organisms to the buyer of the product.

Some of the  the world’s biggest agricultural and chemical corporation manufacture seeds that produce infertile crops by introduction of “terminator” or “suicide” gene (a seed type which can be used only once because of its self destructive features) into the genome of the seeds. The suicide gene makes it necessary for farmers to buy seeds annually from the biotech company. This is a step away from the traditional seed saving practices used in most African agriculture. It creates a dependency upon biotech companies which is not in line with Africa’s wish to become self sufficient.

Another economic risk of the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) in developing countries is the possible loss of export opportunities. These could either be because of the fact that some countries protect their market from GMO’s and would not import genetically modified foods or because genetic engineering will possibly enable the harvest of tropical fruits in temperate regions. This would lead to an aggravation of the income gap between different regions.

The overall economic effect of biotechnology it that is creates larger farmers and therefore more fewer people are in charge and profiting from Agriculture. In other words, biotechnology invites the transition from small farms which serve as a livelihood to large farms, concentrated wealth and agribusiness. Most opponents of genetic engineering detected a strong ethical problem which would arise from the commercialization of such “terminator” seeds. Farmers in developing countries who need such seeds because of their other genetically engineered features have to buy new seeds every year from the same company even if from a purely economic perspective, patents on new technologies are necessary and justifiable. However, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is still incorporating the use of a “terminator gene” in self-pollinating crops, supposedly to prevent cross-pollination with non-genetically modified crops.