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We summarize the findings of a recently completed study of the productivity impacts of international crop genetic improvement research in developing countries. Over the period 1960 to 2000, international agricultural research centers, in collaboration with national research programs, contributed to the development of "modern varieties" for many crops. These varieties have contributed to large increases in crop production. Productivity gains, however, have been uneven across crops and regions. Consumers generally benefited from declines in food prices. Farmers benefited only where cost reductions exceeded price reductions.
The development of modern or highyielding crop varieties (MVs) for developing countries began in a concerted fashion in the late 1950s. In the mid-1960s, scientists developed MVs of rice and wheat that were subsequently released to farmers in Latin America and Asia. The success of these MVs was characterized as a "Green Revolution." Early rice and wheat MVs were rapidly adopted in tropical and subtropical regions with good irrigation systems or reliable rainfall. These MVs were associated with the first two major international agricultural research centers (IARCs): the International Center for Wheat and Maize Improvement in Mexico (CIMMYT) and the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines (IRRI). There are now 16 such centers that operate under the auspices of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) (1). These centers currently support about 8500 scientists and scientific staff, and the annual budget of the CGIAR is currently around $340 million.
A recent study initiated by the Special Project on Impact Assessment (SPIA) of the CGIAR's Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) has compiled the most extensive data yet assembled on the breeding, release, and diffusion of MVs (2). The SPIA study allows for a detailed analysis of the impact of international research for 11 major food crops, by region and country, for the period 1960 to 2000 (3). Here we summarize and report the major findings of the SPIA study.
In focusing on the impact of international research, we do not in any sense disparage the work of national agricultural research systems (NARS), which played a crucial role in creating varieties suitable for farmers. Strong national programs have provided effective research in many developing countries, and some are leaders in the science and technique of plant breeding. The SPIA study...