The main problem
of Mexico's seed industry is that our country does not have a
sound national seed industry and research base. Mexico relies
on foreign multinational companies and seed to produce its
still insufficient food
supplies.
Public research
in Mexico has been a complete failure due to the lack of an
effective technology transfer scheme that would make it
economically attractive for researchers to produce technology
and for small and medium sized companies to license and
exploit these technologies.
Mexico's
National Research Institute, INIFAP, has been reduced to the
role of a trialing and testing institution. Mexico's public
universities are not producing any technology which could be
used by the small and medium domestic seed companies to
compete against the multinational giants.
Mexico's
banking system has ignored the agricultural sector for the
last eight years, making credit to seed companies and research
institutes all but non existant.
Mexico does not
even have a national germplasm bank! |
