11 - The economic and social implications of gene technology to developing countries

Summary

Introduction

The spectacular advances in molecular and cell biology that have fuelled the Biotechnology Revolution in industrially advanced countries can without doubt also have an enormous effect on public health, agriculture and industrial development in developing countries. There is, of course, a continuum of what is defined as biotechnology, ranging from the traditional applications of microbial fermentation to food preservation, mushroom culture, cheese making and beer production, to intricate genetic strategies to design and produce new macromolecules with new pharmacological or enzymatic activities.

For what would seem to be purely practical reasons, the most successful programmes initiated by developed countries and international organizations have concentrated on the ‘low’ end of biotechnology – that is, the older, traditional and proven technologies – as instruments for the improvement of the health, the standard of living and economic conditions of the Third World.

In order that even these basic technologies will positively influence the economics and social conditions of a given region, its is primarily a matter of creating the environment suitable for their effective application and commercial development. This means facilitating local entrepreneurism, creating the availability of investment capital, strengthening and updating the educational system (which more often than not is usually critical), and redesigning government bureaucracies so that they help rather than hinder the application of technology, etc. The current catchword is ‘infrastructure’. Without it, even the best technology would flounder helplessly and benefit no-one.