The biggest risk of modern biotechnology for developing countries is that technological developments may bypass poor farmers because of a lack of enlightened adaptation. It is not that the current biotechnology research is irrelevant, but there is a desperate need for research focused on the problems of small farmers in developing countries. Private sector research is unlikely to take on such a focus, given the uncertainty of future profits in these areas. Without a stronger public sector role, a form of scientific apartheid may develop, in which cutting edge science becomes oriented exclusively toward industrial countries and large-scale farming systems