Abstract
Agriculture in the modern era has been characterized by high rates of technological change (Cochrane, 1993; Schultz, 1964). Over the past century, successive waves of innovation have dramatically altered agricultural production systems. These innovations include several types of technologies: mechanical (tractors, combines, harvesters); chemical (fertilizers and synthetic pesticides); irrigation-related (tubewells, tiledrains, sprinkler and drip irrigation); and biological (improved varieties and hybrids developed through selective breeding). While each of these technological changes has primarily affected one particular feature of the production system, all of them have generally entailed significant modifications in other components of the system. The green revolution, for example, introduced new varieties and hybrids but required more intensive use of irrigation, fertilizer, and pest control.
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© 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Zilbermari, D., Yarkin, C., Heimari, A. (1998). Institutional Change and Biotechnology in Agriculture: Implications for Developing Countries. In: Smale, M. (eds) Farmers Gene Banks and Crop Breeding: Economic Analyses of Diversity in Wheat Maize and Rice. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0011-0_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0011-0_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-8370-3
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