Well I don't know your method of valuing something but if farmers want to pay for it (or "steal" it) I would probably say it brings some value to them.

Which point of the parent comment am I supporting exactly? We both agreed these technologies shouldn't be developed for profit, I'd love to see some international organization doing the research and giving the results for free. Actually I think it already exists, I can't remember exactly which organization but there are some non-profit groups researching better crops.