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. . . .There are now urgent appeals for a second green revolution to make food more sustainable, . . . Sadly, . . . our hopes of achieving such a revolution are under grave threat.
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The economic landscape of agricultural research is radically different to that which enabled the first green revolution. Today, it is overwhelmingly driven by an international private sector, whereas in the past government-funded institutes would develop and distribute better crops and farming techniques.
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. . .[T]he idea in most privatised sectors is that competition. . . promotes innovation and maintains fair prices for consumers. This simply isn’t the case in agri-tech. At present, just three companies own a staggering 51% of the world’s agri-chemicals and 55% of the . . . commercial seed varieties. . . .
. . . . If access to the knowledge gained during the second green revolution is to be shaped by market forces, we should . . . ensure that this is a market with competition.
. . . . [P]ublic discussion of food security is dominated by an anti-science lobby that is highly sceptical . . . of GM-technology. . .
The deeper issue lies in the ownership of the technology we need to grow food. . . .
Read full, original post: The next ‘green revolution’ should focus on hunger – not profit
