This volume responds to concerns about the loss of valuable genetic resources and crop vulnerability arising from widespread cultivation of genetically uniform varieties. It assembles a series of applied studies focusing on the fundamental economic issues related to genetic diversity in crop species, with special reference to developing countries. By presenting the results of initial economic investigations of diversity in the world's three major food crops (wheat, maize, and rice), the volume aims to further the understanding of the economic context in which crop breeders make use of genetic resources and their diversity. The book offers concrete steps in methods and conceptual development, providing an annotated catalogue of the tools used to measure and value genetic diversity. The book should appeal to international agricultural research institutions, to international development organizations and NGOs, and to students and professors in departments of agricultural and resource economics who are concerned with the problem of biodiversity.