[Tps] TPS/ECPR Policy Network - New book - 'Science, Agriculture and the Politics of Policy: The Case of Biotechnology in India'

[Navdeep Mathur]

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From: Ian Scoones [mailto:I.Scoones at ids.ac.uk]


New book - 'Science, Agriculture and the Politics of Policy: The Case of Biotechnology in India' by Ian Scoones (Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex).

Available from:

http://www.ntd.co.uk/idsbookshop/details.asp?id=882 <http://www.ntd.co.uk/idsbookshop/details.asp?id=882>  [International sales]

http://www.orientlongman.com/display.asp?isbn=81-250-2944-3 <http://www.orientlongman.com/display.asp?isbn=81-250-2944-3>  [India sales]

'Science, Agriculture and the Politics of Policy' examines the intersections of globalisation, technology and politics through a detailed, empirically-based examination of agricultural biotechnology in India. The focus is on Bangalore and Karnataka, a part of India which has seen a massive growth in biotech enterprises, experimentation with GM cotton and a contested policy debate about the role biotechnology should play in economic development. The book asks what does this new suite of technologies mean - for society, for politics and for the way agriculture, food and rural livelihoods are thought about? Can biotech deliver a second Green Revolution, and so transform agriculture and rescue the countryside and its people from crisis and poverty? Or is it more complex than this? Through a detailed case study, the aim of the book is to discuss, question and refine these broader debates, locating an understanding of biotechnology firmly within an understanding of society and politics.

Review comments:

 

		Ian Scoones' book is the most lucidly written and coherently organised monograph on biotechnology yet written. His sense of policy processes in Bangalore - with differences between IT and biotechnology and private and public research sites - is superb. This must be read by anyone wanting to understand the Indian biotechnology scene. 

		Professor Shiv Visvanathan - Dhirubhai Ambani Institute for Information and Communication Technology, Gandhinagar and Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi

		 

		 Understanding the implications of agricultural biotechnology for society is a challenging task. Drawing on the experience of Karnataka in particular, Ian Scoones' brilliant book provides a lucid demonstration of how this task may best be taken up, through analysis of the politics of science policy - concluding with a passionate statement of the case for a deliberative approach to science and technology development. 

		Professor John Harriss - DESTIN, London School of Economics.

		 

		 This is a highly readable, yet sophisticated book. It is a nuanced and engaging account of the interactions of science, politics and policy. Although focused on biotechnology and India, it has perspectives that will be useful to all those interested in the introduction of new technologies to both developed and developing countries. 

		Professor Gordon Conway - Chief Scientific Adviser, UK Department for International Development, formerly President, Rockefeller Foundation.

		 

		 India is currently engaged in preparing a national biotechnology policy through consensus among all stakeholders. This book is therefore a timely one, since it shows the way how advances in biotechnology, particularly in genetic engineering, can be mobilised for public good without associated ecological, economic and social harm. 

		Professor M. S. Swaminathan - Chairman, National Commission on Farmers, Government of India and Chairman, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation