Redesigning biotechnology: experiences of a public–private partnership in the development of pro-poor transgenic cabbages in India

Abstract

This article discusses the attempts of a public–private consortium in developing transgenic cabbages for resource-poor farmers in India, and its attempts to address several controversial issues related to the use of transgenic technology in plant breeding. A conceptual introduction suggests that the material design of biotechnologies has important relations with the social relations of the production system in which they are applied. A reconsideration of the role of external technology suppliers in agriculture therefore may require a reconsideration of technical design as well. The discussion of a concrete case demonstrates that redesign can take place in various ways; with respect to the concrete design of a technological object, as well as with respect to the wider societal trends it supports. However, in spite of the observed reflexivity of the project, it is argued that direct stakeholder involvement in the process of technology design remains problematic.