Science, Technology, and Public Policy

"This book argues that sustaining African economic prosperity will require significant efforts to modernize the continent's economy through the application of science and technology in agriculture. In other words, agriculture needs to be viewed as a knowledge-based entrepreneurial activity. The argument is based on the premise that smart investments in agriculture will have multiplier effects in many sectors of the economy and help spread prosperity. More specifically, the book focuses on the importance of boosting support for agricultural research as part of a larger agenda to promote innovation, invest in enabling infrastructure, build human capacity, stimulate entrepreneurship and improve the governance of innovation."

African agriculture is currently at a crossroads, at which persistent food shortages are compounded by threats from climate change. But, as this book argues, Africa faces three major opportunities that can transform its agriculture into a force for economic growth: advances in science and technology; the creation of regional markets; and the emergence of a new crop of entrepreneurial leaders dedicated to the continent's economic improvement.

As part of International Relations Week at Harvard, Calestous Juma, director of the Belfer Center's Science, Technology, and Globalization Project, delivered the keynote address on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at the Center for Government and International Studies.

The Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group (ETIP) seeks to combat global warming and climate change by promoting strategies for efficient energy technologies in China, India, and the United States, such as advanced coal technologies, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and advanced vehicle technologies.

This is the first book to bridge the gap between the "naysayers" and "cheerleaders", and to provide a penetrating examination of the realities, complexities, benefits and pitfalls of GM adoption in developing countries that are desperately fighting poverty while trying to stay afloat in the hyper-competitive global economy.

"Investing in agricultural technology increasingly turns up these days on lists of the top ten practical actions the rich world could take to contribute to reducing global poverty...."