This paper examines the ex-ante benefits of transgenic research on drought in eight developing countries, including the potential magnitude of private sector profits. The framework employs country-specific agroecological-drought risk zones and considers both yield increases and yield variance reductions when estimating producer and consumer benefits from research. Risk benefits from yield variance reductions are shown to be an important component of aggregate drought research benefits, representing 41 percent of total benefits across the eight countries. Further, estimated annual benefits of $US 93 million to the private sector suggest that significant incentives exist for private sector participation in varietal drought tolerance research.