40 percent during each of the past two years. Avery sees even more promising agricultural technol- ogies on the 11orizon.Genetic engineers are now perfecting viral insec- ticides, new varieties of ammonia-producing bacteria (to fertilize soil), and vaccines against the hoof-and-mouth disease in livestock.
The sad exception to this otherwise rosy picture is famine-ridden sub- Sahara Africa. Avery blames bad planning government leaders (and Western advisers) who rushed to industrialize backward societies....