Summary
Many studies on the impact of biotechnology have stated that development and introduction of this new technology may lead to vertical integration in agrofood chain, making farmers more dependent on the inputs supplying industry and the food industry. Even without biotechnology, the agrofood sector is experiencing structural changes leading towards more horizontal and vertical integration. How does biotechnology interact with these restructuring processes? This question is answered in a case study of the Dutch potato industry. Through documentary analysis and interviews with firms at several stages of the potato chain information was gathered on current restructuring processes and the (expected) impact of biotechnology. It was found that biotechnology so far has not had a large impact. Changing consumer demand and changing competitive positions of retailers and food processors have had more effect on vertical integration. Biotechnology may reinforce this trend, but only if consumers accept products made with this new technology.
This paper is based on research funded by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries. Part of this research was carried out in collaboration with TNO Centre for Technology and Policy Studies. The author is grateful for comments made on earlier versions of this paper by Jaap Post, Hans Rutten en Stijn Reinhard.
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© 1996 Physica-Verlag Heidelberg
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Bijman, J.W. (1996). Biotechnology and Vertical Integration in the Dutch Potato Chain. In: Galizzi, G., Venturini, L. (eds) Economics of Innovation: The Case of Food Industry. Contributions to Economics. Physica-Verlag HD. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-50001-5_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-50001-5_18
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