Abstract
Economic momentum of underdeveloped countries derived from the generation and application of their endogenous knowledge is an essential factor toward achieving social welfare. Thus, it is important to understand the development of science and technology within these underdeveloped countries, how the application of that development can address problems in agriculture and food needs, and how that development can offer sustainable options for growth and optimization. In addition, many small farmers in underdeveloped countries are already planting crops based on biotechnological products, which is significant in terms of how these activities influence the development of their lives, particularly with respect to the generation of policies aimed at farming areas. This paper is an exploratory study on the perceptions of peasant producers of the effects of biofertilizers on their environment and their lives. This research is based on a study of peasant producers of the State of Morelos, Mexico, who use biofertilizers produced from endogenous technological assets, i.e., that involve private actors and public research centers. The results facilitate understanding the perceptions of these peasants in addition to the challenges and opportunities that rural areas face and the connections between the involvement of business, academia and government in planning and administration with respect to the management of these innovations.
1. Introduction
Since ancient times, biotechnology has been used to attend the needs of the population. Biotechnology is defined as a science that offers technological solutions from biological organisms, systems and processes related to them, which creates a whole industry in areas such as food, agriculture, and health, among others, and in which the use of technologies employed varies from one application to another in an important manner. Such solutions relate to techniques that go from using fermentation processes to integrating recombinant DNA technology [1e3].
6. Discussion and conclusions
The results were positive, which indicate that biofertilizers contribute to improved land productivity, decreased environmental impact and improved social development. It was generally observed that the perception of the effect of biofertilizers on the environment and on the lives of farmers was favorably accepted. However, it is also true that those producers with more education and greater technical and financial resources have been able to use the benefits derived from this biotechnology in a more comprehensive manner. Therefore, the lack of technical skills and the economic conditions characteristic of the rural environment limit the majority of peasant producers in their use of these new technological options.
