FAOs Research and Extension Division has just published Socio-economic impacts of non-transgenic biotechnologies in developing countries: The case of plant micropropagation in Africa. The 75-page publication comprises three papers. The first, by A. Sonnino and co-authors, discusses some approaches used in impact assessment of innovations and presents a general overview of the literature about the impacts of non-transgenic biotechnologies. The second, by Z. Dhlamini and co-authors, surveys the extent of micropropagation application in Gabon, Mali, Nigeria, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The third, by P. Warren and co-authors, reports the findings of two field studies, on micropropagation of banana in Uganda and of sweetpotato in Zimbabwe, aimed at better understanding the process of adoption of micropropagated planting materials and its impacts on livelihoods. See http://www.fao.org/docrep/011/i0340e/i0340e00.htm or contact [email protected] to request a copy, providing your full postal address.

10/03/2009