The mergers and acquisitions in the agricultural input sector are a response to a changing environment. The new developments in modern biotechnology in combination with data-mining tools (precision agriculture) provide new opportunities for the control of pest and diseases in agriculture. Those developments are knowledge as well as capital intensive. Seed companies compete with pesticide companies compete with biological control strategies…
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Many environmental groups look very critical at the Bayer – Monsanto deal. They reject the use of modern biotechnology in agriculture, be it genetic engineering including new breeding technologies or genomics despite the social benefits the technologies provide. Their concerns have not been ignored and did result in more stringent and more costly regulations in the EU, the US, but also in other countries, making it more difficult for smaller companies to compete. The restructuring of the industry and the rise of larger companies is to a certain extent also a result of those opposing the new technologies.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Bayer – Monsanto: win-win or lose-lose?
