Local farming communities throughout the world face binding
productivity constraints, diverse nutritional needs,
environmental concerns, and significant economic and financial
pressures. Developing countries address these challenges in
different ways, including public and private sector investments
in plant breeding and other modern tools for genetic crop
improvement. In order to measure the impact of any technology
and prioritize investments, we must assess the relevant
resources, human capacity, clusters, networks and linkages, as
well as the institutions performing technological research and
development, and the rate of farmer adoption. However, such
measures have not been recently assessed, in part due to the
lack of complete standardized information on public plant
breeding and biotechnology research in developing countries. To
tackle this void, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the
United Nations (FAO), in consultation with the International
Food Policy Institute (IFPRI) and other organizations,