Socio-Economic Impact Of Biotechnology applications: Some Lessons From The Pilot Tissue-Culture (TC) Banana Production Promotion Project In Kenya, 1997-2002

Abstract

This article is based on a socio-economic impact study of the introduction and adoption of tissue-culture (tc) technology in banana production in Kenya. It attempts to demonstr ate that a prudent introduction and promotion of a new biotechnological innovation in farm ing can make a positive contribution to the socio- economic status of resource poor farmers in a developi ng country, such as Kenya. Adoption of tc technology in banana production in Kenya is considered a good exam ple of biotechnological applications in agriculture. Hence the article hopes to make a contribution to r ecent debates at international levels as to whether biotechnology can make a difference in uplifting the liv ing standards of people in the third world (Qaim, 1999; Graff, et al 2002; Qaim, et al 2002) by showing that it actually does so, using experiences from Kenya. The study utilizes both primary and secondary data sour ces. The results show that tc-banana production is relatively more capital intensive than non-tc banana production (re: about 70% fixed costs for tc banana versus about 49% fixed costs for non-tc banana). Howe ver, tc-banana production is found to offer relatively much higher financial returns th an non-tc banana production. The high profitability of tc-banana production relative to traditional (non-tc) ba nana production and other farm enterprises in the pilot tc-ban ana project area in Kenya demonstrates the importance of biotechnological applications in rural development and shows that bi otechnology can make a difference in uplifting the living standards of people in the third world. Therefore, efforts to promote tc-banana production in Kenya are justifiable from both food security and economic criteria.