Modern Varieties, International Agricultural Research, and the Poor
An examination of the affects of modern crop varieties on consumption, real income, employment, and nutrition among the poor in developing countries, and critique of the body of literature regarding the same. The authors attributed serious shortcomings to the existing literature on the affects of the modern variety adoption on the poor, which they characterize as given to wide swings between prevailing optimistic and pessimistic assessments, and prone to focus on more immediate, "first round" affects of newly adopted varieties. They also found a dearth of analysis on the impacts of modern varieties on the livelihoods of small producers operating in regions which have yet to adopt new varieties, and evidence led them to warn of serious consequences to those regions that lagged behind. The implications of the study for the work CGIAR Centers suggest the need for packages of combined technologies that take into consideration the specific characteristics of the poor (be they primarily small farmers, townspeople, or laborers) as well as the changing political contexts in which poverty reduction must take place. Written by Michael Lipton and Richard Longhurst of Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Internal Document biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1985-10-01
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10947/867 |
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| Summary: | An examination of the affects of modern crop varieties on consumption, real income, employment, and nutrition among the poor in developing countries, and critique of the body of literature regarding the same. The authors attributed serious shortcomings to the existing literature on the affects of the modern variety adoption on the poor, which they characterize as given to wide swings between prevailing optimistic and pessimistic assessments, and prone to focus on more immediate, "first round" affects of newly adopted varieties. They also found a dearth of analysis on the impacts of modern varieties on the livelihoods of small producers operating in regions which have yet to adopt new varieties, and evidence led them to warn of serious consequences to those regions that lagged behind. The implications of the study for the work CGIAR Centers suggest the need for packages of combined technologies that take into consideration the specific characteristics of the poor (be they primarily small farmers, townspeople, or laborers) as well as the changing political contexts in which poverty reduction must take place. Written by Michael Lipton and Richard Longhurst of Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. |
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