Public-Private Partnership and Genetically Engineered Eggplant

The public-private partnership involved in the development of genetically engineered eggplant (Bt eggplant) in India is a good example for analyzing the economic impact of the partnership for different stake holders: producers, consumers, and innovators, and this book share that motivation. This book focuses on factors influencing expected adoption of two different forms of the technology- Bt hybrid and Bt open pollinated varieties (OPV), the welfare benefits of introducing Bt eggplant in the context of the public-private partnership, and the impact of introduction of Bt eggplant on varietal diversity. The main findings are: hybrid growers of eggplant have higher probability to adopt Bt hybrid; providing Bt OPVs on preferential terms to resource- limited farmers would not be detrimental to the innovator''s interest, and introduction of Bt OPVs by public sector might reduce the speed at which landraces are getting replaced by Bt hybrids in India, which is one of the centers of origin of eggplant. However, the success of the partnership would largely depend on the seed premium of Bt hybrid charged by the innovator, and the performance of Bt technology.