2000-2001 ANNUAL REPORT Biotechnology: Two Perspectives

Message from the Chair of the Board of Trustees

Geoff Miller, Chair IFPRI Board of Trustees

THE YEAR 2000 had many highlights for IFPRI: the Institute completed important research on diverse topics such as malnutrition in Asia and around the world, market reform in Africa, microcredit, the transformation of rural Asia, and preliminary analysis of the new round of global agricultural trade negotiations. Last but not least, the Institute had its 25th anniversary.

As IFPRI embarks on its second quarter century, and as the world moves into a new millennium, many challenges lie ahead. Globalization has meant increased overall wealth, yet poverty and food insecurity stubbornly persist for too many of our fellow human beings, and inequality appears to be worsening. Many IFPRI studies offer important insights for addressing these problems. We know from past work by IFPRI that in poor countries, agricultural growth is essential for eradicating poverty, protecting the environment, and fostering overall economic development. We know a great deal about how to target food programs in ways that assure that needy people will benefit. We know how to address the problems of famine. And we know that public agricultural research can have enormous benefits to society as a whole and poor people in particular.

But new research is needed as well if we are to realize the dream of universal food security. How can we bring cutting edge technologies to bear for the benefit of food, agriculture, and the environment? Information and communications technologies have much to offer in the effort to foster food security. Similarly, new energy technologies hold great promise.

In this report, IFPRI researchers tackle the issues surrounding the potential contributions and pitfalls of new technological developments in another area, namely molecular biology.

The application of modern biotechnology to food and agriculture has been extremely controversial. Clearly, it holds great promise for poor farmers and consumers—the potential for more nutritious foods, drought- and pest-resistant crops that do not require costly purchased inputs, and foods that can deliver medicines. Yet consumer resistance in developed countries may derail the application of this technology to developing countries. And a policy environment is needed in developing countries that emphasizes poverty reduction, food security, and environmental protection, so that there is appropriate attention to biosafety and equitable agricultural development.

In 2001, IFPRI will continue to carry out research on all of these questions. We will also be looking at other critical issues, such as appropriate management of water resources, how to intensify agriculture in an environmentally sustainable manner in the less-favored areas where many poor people live, how to capture the benefits of high-value production and rural industrialization for poor people, what sorts of policies are needed to assure that globalization contributes to food security, and how to grapple with emerging and re-emerging health issues that impinge on poverty and malnutrition.

A highlight of 2001 will be the second international conference sponsored by IFPRI’s 2020 Vision Initiative, to be held in Bonn, Germany. Organized in close cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, with the support of many public and private sponsors, the conference will focus on achieving sustainable food security by 2020. The conference will not just showcase the latest research and key food policy debates, but will seek to foster consensus around a set of priority actions that will help make the 2020 vision a reality. It is a very exciting time to be associated with IFPRI. We have a real chance to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of millions of people over the next few years.