The Economic Impact of Herbicide Tolerant Canola in Canada

The ultimate question asked of any change in technology is “qui bono? ” or “who benefits? ” Past waves of technological change in the agrifood sector have delivered a relatively straightforward distribution of benefits and costs (see Alston et al., 2000). Agricultural biotechnology has potentially changed that historical distribution of impacts. Whereas many of the innovations in the canola industry have been yield-enhancing traits, developed by public researchers and provided at low (or no) cost to producers, most recent developments have occurred in the private sector, protected by enhanced private intellectual property rights and commercialized through increasingly proprietary systems (Phillips & Khachatourians, 2001).