| The ongoing debate over the potential benefits and risks associated with agricultural biotechnology has not been restricted to developed countries, but has occurred in developing nations, such as Bangladesh, as well. In the Bangladesh context, representatives from professional groups play a leading role in molding public opinion, thus it is important to gauge knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions regarding rice biotechnology research held by these stakeholders. To this end, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), surveyed professional groups regarding rice biotechnology. In 2003, BRAC fielded a survey questionnaire by mail to scientists at agricultural research institutions, university teachers, senior executives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and environmental advocacy associations, senior government officials, and eminent professionals. A total of 232 surveys were completed and returned; there was some evidence of selectivity bias in the study as some opponents of biotechnology chose not to respond to the survey. Study findings based on the completed surveys are summarized below.
For analysis purposes, respondents were classified into six groups: (1) agricultural research and extension personnel (comprising 35% of the total sample); (2) managers and senior executives of NGOs (26%); (3) university teachers and other academic professionals (21%); (4) policy makers and upper level government officials (7%); (5) environmentalists (3%) and; (6) members of other professional groups (8%). Nearly 60 percent of the respondents were between the ages of 41 and 55. Level of education was generally high; ten percent held bachelor’s degrees, 45 percent had earned master’s degrees, and 45 percent held a Ph.D. Nearly 80 percent were born in villages or rural towns, suggesting that most of the respondents may be knowledgeable about agriculture. In fact, most of the respondents correctly defined the Green Revolution -- a test of their knowledge of technological advances in agriculture.
 Nearly everyone (95%) reported that they had heard of “biotechnology”. Furthermore, 59 percent reported having heard of “GMOs” (genetically modified organisms) -- 98 percent of these respondents were able to correctly define the acronym. Only 46 percent of the respondents were familiar with the phrase “Frankenstein food”, a moniker for GMOs frequently used by critics of agricultural biotechnology. The major sources of information about biotechnology were newspapers (53%), other institutions (34%), teachers (26%), literature (21%), television/radio (19%), and other professional groups (14%). NGOs were a relatively minor source of information about biotechnology (13%), suggesting that in Bangladesh, thus far, NGOs have not played a prominent role in advertising the negative aspects of biotechnology.
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(Photos courtesy of IRRI photo bank)
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