FAO Book on the Socio-Economic Impacts of Non-Transgenic Biotechnologies in Developing Countries

Socio-Economic Impacts of Non-Transgenic Biotechnologies in Developing Countries: The Case of Plant Micropropagation in Africa. By Andrea Sonnino, Zephaniah Dhlamini, Fabio Maria Santucci and Patrizio Warren. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2009. ISBN 978-92-5-106076-6.

Table of Contents
Part 1
Preface
Acknowledgments
Contributors
List of abbreviations
Part 2
1. Assessing the socio-economic impacts of non-transgenic biotechnologies in developing countries
2. Survey on micropropagation utilization in selected African countries
3. Case studies from Uganda and Zimbabwe
References

Abstract
This publication aims to contribute to the knowledge of socio-economic impacts of the adoption of biotechnologies, focusing on non-transgenic biotechnologies (i.e. biotechnologies other than genetic engineering). The first paper discusses some approaches used in innovations’ impact assessment and presents a general overview of the literature about the impacts of nontransgenic biotechnologies. Some studies which have explored the extent of the application of micropropagation in Africa, with special attention to Gabon, Mali, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe are presented in the second paper. The case studies from Uganda and Zimbabwe, included in the third paper, present the main findings of two field studies, carried out with an anthropological approach, aimed at better understanding the motivations and conditions favouring the innovation process, and at identifying direct and indirect impacts on livelihoods, derived from the adoption of planting materials generated through micropropagation techniques.

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