World Food Policy WFP Volume 4, No. 2, Spring 2018 | Page 23

World Food Policy • Vol. 4, No. 2 / Spring 2018
The Role of Multinational Corporations
in the Supply of Agricultural Production
Technology to China & India
Carl Pray, Latha Nagarajan and Anwar Naseem 1
Abstract
Policy makers in Asia have long struggled with the challenge of how
to access agricultural technology from multinational corporations
(MNCs)while protecting their farmers and food and input indus-
tries from excess market power. This paper describes the pathways
by which farmers can access technology and research capacity from
foreign firms. Then it examines some of the policies that India and
Chinese governments have used to encourage access. The recent
history of research and technology transfer to these countries is re-
viewed to do a preliminary assessment of how these policies work.
India has had a much more liberal policy on foreign investment in
recent years which resulted in more access to MNC research and
technology. So far, however, there are no studies that show this pol-
icy led to higher benefits to farmers or lower costs of transferring
technology. Studies of benefits and costs of these policies could be
very useful to Indian and Chinese policy makers.
Keywords: Foreign direct investment, agricultural technology,
technology transfer, industrial policy, agricultural research.
El papel de las corporaciones multinacionales en
el suministro de tecnología de producción
agrícola China e India
Resumen
Los responsables de la formulación de políticas en Asia han lucha-
do durante mucho tiempo con el desafío de cómo acceder a la tec-
nología agrícola de las corporaciones multinacionales (CMN) al
tiempo que protegen a sus agricultores y las industrias de alimen-
1
Rutgers University
19
doi: 10.18278/wfp.4.2.3