Biotechnology and the future of agriculture and natural resources — An overview

Abstract

The development of biotechnology has affected our university, governmental, and commercial institutions. Increased collaboration has sped up the movement of information across institutional and economic boundaries. This degree of cooperation has led to the rapid development of biotechnology both scientifically and commercially. Yet, the development of biotechnology in the agricultural and natural resource sectors is often criticized as being too slow. Reasons for the differences in the development of biotechnology in the human sciences, and the agriculture and natural resource sciences have not been examined. This special issue of Technological Forecasting and Social Change looks at the development and future of biotechnology in agriculture and natural resources. This overview is an introduction to the issue which compares the many viewpoints presented in the following articles and provides additional background information for the new scholar of this important technological development. We end with a discussion of the future of biotechnology in agriculture and natural resources, and the need for better information to guide the development of this new technology.