Biotech Powerhouses: How a Handful of Firms Reshaped Global Agriculture
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This NBER review by Brian Wright and Tiffany Shih (2010) traces a century of agricultural innovation and notes growing concentration in the agricultural biotechnology industry.
Market Landscape: – Firms such as Monsanto (now Bayer), DuPont and Dow (whose seed and crop businesses are now Corteva), BASF and Syngenta came to dominate agricultural biotech research and patenting.
Strategic Behavior: – Extensive use of licensing agreements and patent litigation. – Mergers: Monsanto-Calgene and Monsanto-DeKalb expanded Monsanto’s seed dominance.
Analysis: The emergence of dominant biotech firms reshaped global agriculture by consolidating seed markets and influencing research directions. While these companies introduced powerful traits (e.g., herbicide tolerance, pest resistance), they also raised concerns about biodiversity, pricing power, and farmer dependency.