Public policies influencing innovation in the agrochemical, biotechnology and seed industries

The development and marketing of new products by the agrochemical, biotechnology and seed industries is strongly regulated by government policies. Relevant policies include those on science, technology and innovation, the environment and public health, and farm support. This survey of policies likely to influence company innovation strategy was conducted to provide essential background information, ahead of interviews within companies to determine actual influence. Since different policies interact, sometimes conflict and are subject to change, predicting their impact a priori is difficult. However, the survey suggested that environment and public health polices might be the most influential, as they become increasingly stringent