Science, Technology and Development: Questioning the Technological Innovation through Biotechnology Cotton in Burkina Faso

The introduction of Bt cotton into the agricultural system in Burkina Faso has resulted in the devaluation of traditional knowledge and indigenous science, with the consequence of displacing the control of the ST-System of cotton by national actors (research, farmers, state) in favour of the interests and control of a private foreign actor (Monsanto), which has acted to maximise its economic gain at the expense of a large number of small farmers and the national agricultural research system. This finding challenges the new knowledge-centred development paradigm's optimistic and abstract view about the role of science and technology in development. Specifically, the validity of the claim that science and technological interventions will per se generate socio-economic development is not sustained.