This chapter examines the emergence of national agricultural research systems in developing countries, and highlights the changes taking place in the financing and organization of public research in these countries. Key elements that underlie the restructuring of public research systems are...

This chapter questions the continued need for public plant breeding programmes in developing countries and discusses their future role. The following factors driving the changes taking place in the plant breeding industry are identified: the commercialization of agriculture; the privatization of...

This chapter outlines policy options for public research organizations in developing countries to address issues pertaining to intellectual property and income generation. The major emphasis is on crop improvement research, which is most affected by the recent changes in the public research...

Some of the most important innovations to emerge in recent years - which have transformed whole industries, particularly in the areas of biotechnology (transforming medicine and agriculture) and information technology (transforming computing and communications) - were the result of research...