Politics of knowledge and non-knowledge: Agricultural biotechnology in India

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Markus Keck
• Subject Area: Human Geography
• Term: from 2017 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 378455085

This research project aims to investigate the recent politicization of agricultural biotechnology in India from a spatial perspective. Overall, the project deals with the following key questions: (1) Which scientific institutions are involved in the production of agro-biotechnological knowledge in India and which actors shape the ongoing political negotiations on the promotion, control, and restriction of genetic engineering? (2) What scientific and technical instruments exist to transfer concepts of agricultural biotechnology from one place to another, and in which ways do political actors promote or hinder the travelling of relevant knowledge and non-knowledge? (3) How do biotechnological companies, by means of sellers and extension service actors, transfer scientific concepts of agricultural biotechnology into the life-worlds of farmers in India? The project will examine the pluralization of scientific knowledge and non-knowledge about agricultural biotechnology, as well as the political networks that shape ongoing negotiations on the application of genetic engineering in India. It will study the scientific, technical, and political tools to transfer scientific knowledge and non-knowledge from one context to another. And it will analyze how scientific knowledge is made intelligible to farmers and how the situated knowledge of farmers is transferred back into the scientific debate. By integrating concepts from Science and Technology Studies into Development Geography, it will be possible to identify basic mechanisms of the politics of knowledge and non-knowledge in the current public debate about genetic engineering in India. These mechanisms will be instructive for future studies on technological transformations in India and beyond.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: India
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Ejnavarzala Haribabu; Professor Dr. Anthony Whitbread