On 20-22 September 2004, a conference entitled "African policy dialogues on biotechnology: Building consensus and strategies for common action in Southern Africa" took place in Harare, Zimbabwe, organised by the Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the New Partnership for Africa`s Development (NEPAD). The programme, opening speech and three background papers are now available on the web. The background papers are entitled "Governing biotechnology in Africa: Toward consensus on key issues in biosafety" by F. Kalibwani, J. Mugwagwa, J. Cohen, J. Komen and T. Sengooba; "Intellectual property protection and biotechnology: Issues and processes for African consensus" by N.K. Olembo, L. Sese, M. Mwasi, and V. Henson-Appollonio and "Policy dialogues on genetically modified crops in Europe: Insights for African policy dialogues on biotechnology" by R. Birner and G. Alcaraz. See http://www.ifpri.org/africadialogue/events/20040920.asp or contact [email protected] or [email protected] for more information.

08/10/2004