Promethean Science Agricultural Biotechnology, the Environment, and the Poor Ismail Serageldin and G. J. Persley CONSULTATIVE GROUP ON INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH front.p65 1 5/2/2000, 2:19 PM For John J. Doyle, whose vision inspires us still Copyright © 2000 Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research 1818 H Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, USA http://www.cgiar.org Citation: Serageldin, Ismail, and G.J. Persley. 2000. Promethean Science: Agricultural Biotech- nology, the Environment, and the Poor. Consultative Group on International Agricul- tural Research, Washington, D.C. 48 p. Technical Editor: L. Reginald MacIntyre ELS front.p65 2 5/2/2000, 2:19 PM Contents Authors’ Preface v Part 1 The Challenge 1 Global Food Security 1 Poverty in a Time of Plenty: A Paradox 1 World Food Production Challenge 3 Beyond the Green Revolution 4 Doubly Green Revolution 5 Double Shift in the Research Paradigm 5 Challenge of Biotechnology 7 Part 2 Enabling Technologies 12 Evolution of Modern Genetics 12 Gene Transfer Technologies 13 Understanding Plant and Animal Genes 13 Platform Technologies 15 Functional Genomics for Trait Discovery 15 Part 3 Putting Technologies to Work 18 Crop Improvement 18 Characterizing Biodiversity 21 Bioinformatics 23 Livestock Improvement 23 Diagnostics and Therapeutics 27 Part 4 The Way Ahead 31 Food for the Poor 33 Epilogue 36 Glossary of Terms 37 References 39 iii front.p65 3 5/2/2000, 2:19 PM The CGIAR… The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) is an informal association of 58 public and private sector members supporting 16 international agricultural research centers. The CGIAR’s mission is to contribute to food security and poverty eradication in developing countries through re- search, partnership, capacity building, and policy support, pro- moting sustainable agricultural development based on the environmentally sound management of natural resources. The World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and United nations Environment Programme (UNEP) serve as cosponsors. The Authors… Ismail Serageldin, Chair of the CGIAR, is a Vice President of the World Bank for Special Programs. Before focusing on the Bank’s special programs, he was Vice President for Environmen- tally and Socially Sustainable Development. He held earlier po- sitions as economist, Division Chief, and Director at the World Bank, dealing primarily with Africa, and the Middle East. He obtained his doctorate at Harvard University, and has published internationally on economic development, human resources issues, and the environment, with an emphasis on poverty alle- viation. Gabrielle J. Persley is an advisor to the CGIAR and the World Bank on biotechnology-related issues. She received her doctor- ate in microbiology at the University of Queensland, and worked for several years as a plant pathologist in Africa and Australia. Her work in recent years has focused on the role of biotechnol- ogy in developing countries. She has published widely, and is editor of a CABI-published series of books on Agricultural Bio- technology. front.p65 4 5/2/2000, 2:19 PM Authors’ Preface harnessing the new findings in biotech- Prometheus, according to Greek mythology, was a Titan, responsible nology for the benefit of the poor and the for introducing fire to humans, a re- environment. markable innovation at the time, but hav- It is here that the newly created Global ing benefits and risks, depending on its use. Forum for Agricultural Research must be Promethean has since come to mean dar- seen as an important new vector for bringing ingly original and creative. about the necessary collaboration amongst This book is a companion to the larger farmers, producer and consumer organiza- volume “Agricultural Biotechnology and tions, public and private companies, non- the Poor” which was published in January governmental organizations, national 2000. That volume reported on the inter- agricultural research systems, advanced re- national conference that the CGIAR and search organizations and international ag- the U.S. National Academy of Sciences co- riculture research institutes, including the sponsored with many other interested in- CGIAR centers. stitutions in October 1999. Our thanks are due to Per Pinstrup- There is a double shift in the research Andersen and Rajul Pandya-Lorch for per- paradigm: firstly, the need for greater mission to use material from the International contextualization of research, to be under- Food Policy Research Institute’s Focus 2 series taken in the context of the deeper under- of briefs on biotechnology, which were pub- standing of the suatainable management of lished in October 1999 as part of the 2020 the environment and the socioeconomic Vision project. We are especially grateful and gender issues that affect the livelihoods to John Barton, Richard Flavell, Clive of poor people in rural and urban areas. James, Klaus Leisinger, and Ivan Morrison The second shift is the need to mobilize for allowing us to draw on their material. the new revolution in genetics and biotech- We thank also Peter Doherty, Val Giddings, nology to improve the productivity of agro- Declan McKeever, Noel Murphy, and Ana ecological systems and the crops, Sittenfeld for their helpful review of the livestock, fish, trees and other species im- manuscript. portant to poor people and developing The design and desktopping of this book countries. were done by Staci Daddona and Gaudencio Without minimizing in any way the Dizon. We thank them and also Shirley Geer vital importance of the first shift, this and Sarwat Hussain of the CGIAR Secretariat monograph is devoted to a discussion for their exceptional effort in getting this of the second shift, the challenge of book out in record time. Ismail Serageldin Gabrielle J. Persley v front.p65 5 5/2/2000, 2:19 PM Schematic illustration of regions of origin of the major food crops and the locations of the research centers of the CGIAR ISNAR ICARDA Netherlands Syria IPGRI Italy IFPRI USA Wheat, Rice, ICRISAT India Barley Soybean, Banana/ CIMMYT Mexico Plantain Maize, IRRI Philippines Beans CIAT Cassava ICLARM Malaysia Colombia Potato Sorghum, CIFOR Indonesia Sweet potato Millets CIP Peru Groundnut WARDA ILRI IWMI Cote d'Ivoire ICRAF Sri Lanka Kenya IITA Nigeria