Solutions to the challenges of hunger and poverty are complex and cut across the realms of economics, politics, ecology, gender and agricultural technologies. Climate change and the environmental degradation of agricultural resources in many countries make the goal of food security even more daunting. Yet with the world’s food needs expected to double by the middle of this century, technical advances will be required in all aspects of agricultural production to meet projected demand. These advances include: improved genetic material; more efficient and effective fertilizer use; expanded and more efficient irrigation; tools and equipment adapted to small-scale farming; and more environment-friendly plant protection and disease control measures.

Agricultural biotechnologies, including GMOs (genetically modified organisms), represent one tool in a large array of potential productivity-enhancing technologies. Based on limited initial evidence, certain biotechnologies hold out the promise of considerable benefits, including greater tolerance to drought, pests and diseases and reduced agrochemical and fertilizer requirements, thus addressing some of the criticisms of traditional green revolution technology.

Yet technological advances are not the only determinant of agricultural productivity, and one should avoid thinking that there is a technical fix for every production constraint. Effective agricultural development will require an integrated set of production techniques that are more ecologically sustainable, and about which decisions are best made on a participatory and demand-driven basis. This paper addresses the set of essential conditions under which agricultural biotechnologies and other production technologies can be adequately assessed, developed and managed consistent with these priorities.

The potential benefits of crop biotechnology should be weighed against environmental risks and uncertainties, and considered within a broader political, social, and economic development framework. Recommended criteria for adoption of biotechnologies include their potential for reducing hunger and poverty, the benefits they offer smallholder farmers, and the extent to which decisions regarding their use reflect informed developing country input at all levels.