Scientists seek support from Mexican public

At the meeting, organized by Mexico's research council, CONACYT, Herrera-Estrella told the producers that for US$500,000 he could develop transgenic agave plants that would be resistant to disease. Moreover, CONACYT would pay half the cost. The offer was a bargain: the producers had previously approached scientists at a well-known US agricultural biotechnology company, who had said that if they were interested in the project — which wasn't certain — it would cost the producers more than $20 million.

But the producers rejected Herrera-Estrella's offer — in his words, “they said I was crazy to ask for half a million” — despite knowing that a US scientist would charge much more for the same service, and despite the fact that $200 million a year in exports was at stake. “Industrialists think that because we're Mexicans, we should charge what Mexican labourers charge,” says a physicist who has found himself in a similar situation. “They would rather pay more for something 'safe', from abroad.”