Most basic research is paid for directly by governments. That work is carried out in universities and research institutes funded by grants awarded to researchers who have made a specific proposal which has been assessed for originality and quality by independent reviewers. Applied research in western countries - that is the production of a saleable product - is mainly carried out in companies who are in business to do just that.

In developing countries it is common for new GM crops to be constructed in university and government laboratories, and to be taken forward and tested locally. Multinational companies are much less involved than in the industrial countries for two main reasons:

• developing countries are mainly poor and offer fewer opportunities than those in the west for the substantial profits the companies need to offset their enormous costs of development

• there is more attention paid to producing GM crops to meet local needs which may not offer the commercial possibilities needed by the large corporations

• the multinationals not infrequently donate their technology without cost provided its use is restricted to developing countries.

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