other authors

This paper compares and contrasts how innovation—the successful introduction of new products, services, or techniques—is occurring in biotechnology seeds in China and India. We begin with an over-view of the agricultural challenges faced by China and India and the substantial investments that both countries are making in agri-cultural research and development (R&D) and biotechnology to ad-dress these challenges. We next describe each country’s approach to three factors identified by industry as important to innovation in biotech seeds: market access, intellectual property (IP) protec-tion, and efficient regulatory review processes. We find substantial problems in all three areas including limited market access for foreign firms in China and significant price caps in India; limitations and gaps in IP protection and enforcement; and lengthy delays in regulatory review. We conclude with a case study highlighting how the three factors shaped the introduction and adoption of the first widely commercialized biotech crop in China and India, Bt cotton. 1 This article represents solely the views of the authors and not the views of th