| Moderators: Robert Watson, Tiejun Wen |
Public investment in infrastructure, agricultural research, education and extension is essential for stimulating private investment, agricultural production and resource conservation. However, the marginal production environments have historically received extremely low levels of public investments even though they are home to a large proportion of the world's poor. The Green Revolution has bypassed these environments and future technological prospects seem to be limited. The marginal environments could benefit from breakthroughs in genomics and genetic engineering coupled with resource conserving technologies such as conservation agriculture, but current investments in biotechnology are not targeted to the problems of these areas. Significant scientific efforts in developing effective resource management techniques would also be crucial for the fragile soils and other resources in these environments. Even if the technologies are available getting them to into the hands of poor farmers in marginal environments continues to be a formidable challenge.
The challenge is complicated by the fact that the ultimate goal must be to increase the income of the farmers. Thus, there is a need to have business models that enable these farmers to access higher value markets so that they can afford improved inputs and that their disposable income increases.
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| Potential questions to be addressed : |
Can public/private sector partnerships be created such that private sector technologies can be adapted for the problems faced by the poor in marginal production environments?
What mechanisms are available to effectively blend local knowledge and modern science to address the perennial problems of the marginal environments, such as drought?
What priority investments and incentive systems need to be in place for enhancing productivity and incomes in these areas?
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