Golden RiceTM has the potential to improve the lives of
millions of the poorest people in the world. However, the question now
is ‘will it ever reach those for whom it was intended?’ It will not be
easy because the technology is caught up in a myriad of hopes and fears,
and not to mention a handful of patents.
Research into Golden Rice is still at its early stages and it will take time before we know whether the benefits it claims to offer will be realized.
For more, read what Ingo Potrykus, Golden Rice's inventor, has to say about his creation.
Despite the success of Golden RiceTM and all the media attention, the new crop is not yet ready for market. On the contrary, the collaborators do not expect it to be available for local planting and consumption until 2003 at the earliest. There is plenty of work still to do. The researchers used the japonica variety of rice for their experiments, while indica rice is the most common commercial strain. Scientists in Asia will now take on the task of crossbreeding the new strain with local rice varieties and field-testing the hybrids. As for the complex patent issue behind the Golden RiceTM technology, there have now been bold efforts from the private sector to help make it available in developing countries.
In May 2000, the inventors reached an agreement with Zeneca and Greenovation, a German company acting as intermediary for the inventors. Zeneca pledged to provide regulatory, advisory and research expertise to help make Golden Rice™ available in developing countries. Under the agreement, Zeneca will give the inventors patent rights for use in developing countries in exchange for the right to sell Golden Rice™ to farmers in wealthy countries. More recently, Monsanto Co., one of the many patent holders, said it would waive its patent rights unconditionally. Hopefully, with the examples of Zeneca and Monsanto Co, other companies will fall into line behind Golden Rice™.
