Governmentalization of R&D: tailoring coffee biotechnology in India

Abstract

In India, Government sponsored institutions had historically driven plant breeding and related R& D programs in the plantation sector. These institutions promoted centralized research structures and catalyzed vertical dissemination of technologies. The advent of third generation biotechnologies has changed the scenario. With civil society voicing biosafety concerns in the country, traditional systems of research and dissemination of technologies do not appear a viable option for biotechnologies. With reference to coffee R&D in India, the paper describes how pressures of complying with civil society concerns have prompted State driven research institutes to tailor transgenic research to reflect the needs of coffee producers.