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Agricultural Biotechnologies
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The News items relate to applications of biotechnologies in food and agriculture in developing countries and their major focus is on the activities of FAO, other UN agencies/bodies and the 15 CGIAR research centres. The News items cover all food and agricultural sectors (crops, forestry, fisheries/aquaculture, livestock, agro-industry) and a wide range of biotechnologies (e.g. use of molecular markers, artificial insemination, triploidisation, biofertilisers, micropropagation, genomics, genetic modification etc.). New documents are included as News if they are freely available on the web and, for people who can't download them or who wish further information, an e-mail contact is also provided. The News service was launched in January 2002 and all News items posted since then (there were 800 in the first 9 years) are available here. The news and event items on this website are also disseminated through an e-mail newsletter called FAO-BiotechNews that is published in six different versions, one per language i.e. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. To subscribe, send a message to [email protected] indicating which e-mail addresses are to be subscribed and in which language they wish to receive the newsletter.
01/05/2007
On 24-25 August 2006, the International Food Policy Research Institute, under the South Asia Biosafety Program, organised a conference in New Delhi, India on "Economic considerations of biosafety and biotechnology regulations in India", in collaboration with the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), India. The meeting was designed to provide a platform for national and international economic experts and important Indian stakeholders to discuss economic considerations related to biosafety and biotechnology in India. The 64-page proceedings, providing a summary of presentations and discussions from the conference, are now available on the web. See http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/books/indiaproc.asp or contact [email protected] for more information.
16/04/2007
On 18-20 January 2005, FAO hosted an expert consultation in Rome, Italy, on "Genetically modified organisms in crop production and their effects on the environment: Methodologies for monitoring and the way ahead". Proceedings of the consultation, edited by K. Ghosh and P.C. Jepson, are now available on the web, consisting of the report plus a selection of papers presented by invited speakers. The consultation recommended that all responsible deployment of GM crops needed to comprise the whole technology development process, from the pre-release risk assessment to biosafety considerations and post-release monitoring, and that a continuous engagement of stakeholders is essential for success of the process. Two distinct strategies were developed that could be used as the basis for efficient monitoring programmes. See http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/a0802e/a0802e00.htm or contact [email protected] to request a copy.
15/04/2007
The 31st Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Grains and the 42nd Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Rice are being held in a joint meeting on 14-17 May 2007 in Istanbul, Turkey. One of the papers prepared for the meeting is entitled "Biotechnology in crop production and the Biosafety Protocol - Implications for cereal trade", whose aim is to present an overview of modern biotechnology in crop production, with a particular reference to genetically modified organisms, discuss the international instruments of relevance in this area and highlight the challenges and implications for cereal trade. See http://www.fao.org/unfao/bodies/ccp/gr-ri/2007/index_en.htm or contact [email protected] for more information. These Intergovernmental Groups were established by FAO`s Committee on Commodity Problems and their last Sessions were held in 2004.
14/04/2007
The 11th Regular Session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) takes place on 11-15 June 2007 in Rome, Italy. Documents for the meeting are now available on the web, some of which are directly related to biotechnology, namely "Progress on the Draft Code of Conduct on Biotechnology as it relates to genetic resources for food and agriculture: policy issues, gaps and duplications" (document CGRFA-11/07/13); "Guiding principles for the development of CGIAR Centres` policies to address the possibility of unintentional presence of transgenes in ex situ collections" (document CGRFA-11/07/14 Rev.1); "The State of the World`s Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: Final Version" (document CGRFA-11/07/Inf.6); as well as a report from FAO providing an overview of the main activities being undertaken in six of FAO`s Priority Areas for Inter-Disciplinary Action (PAIAs), including the Biotechnology PAIA, that are most relevant to the work of the CGRFA (document CGRFA-11/07/20.3). See http://www.fao.org/ag/cgrfa/cgrfa11.htm (documents will eventually be available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Spanish) or contact [email protected] for more information.
13/04/2007
As part of its FAO Legal Papers Online series, the FAO Legal Office has recently published "The SPS Agreement and biosafety" by M. Spreij. This paper was presented at a regional training workshop on drafting secondary biosafety regulations held on 10-13 October 2006 in Hanoi, Vietnam, organised by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It includes a general introduction to the World Trade Organization (WTO), its objectives, functions and structure, and to the relevant WTO Agreements in the biosafety area, notably the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement). In addition, it presents the findings of the Panel Report in the recent biotechnology dispute and identifies some areas of potential conflict between the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and WTO rules, in particular the SPS Agreement. The concluding remarks contain some practical considerations on drafting biosafety legislation. See http://www.fao.org/Legal/prs-ol/lpo65.pdf or contact [email protected] to request a copy or to provide any comments.
12/04/2007
The FAO moderated e-mail conference entitled "Coping with water scarcity in developing countries: What role for agricultural biotechnologies?" is now finished. It ran from 5 March to 1 April 2007, about 430 people subscribed and 78 messages were posted by 50 people in 24 different countries. About two thirds of the messages came from developing countries. Topics discussed included the development of drought tolerant crops, through marker-assisted selection or conventional breeding; genetic modification and alternatives to genetic modification in solving water scarcity; use of bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi inoculants; and the use of biotechnologies for treating wastewater to be used in agriculture. The messages are available at http://www.fao.org/biotech/logs/c14logs.htm or can be requested as a single e-mail (size 128 KB) from [email protected].
11/04/2007
The report of the 28th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling, that took place on 5-9 March 2007 in Budapest, Hungary, is now available. Agenda Item 6, on "Criteria for the methods for the detection and identification of foods derived from biotechnology", is covered in paragraphs 103-111 of the report. See document ALINORM 07/30/23 at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/web/archives.jsp or contact [email protected] for further information.
10/04/2007
On 19-23 March 2007, the 1st Research Coordination Meeting of the Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on "The early and rapid diagnosis of transboundary animal diseases such as Avian Influenza" was held in Vienna, Austria. The joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture has just started this new CRP, which focuses on the development of sensitive, specific and rapid early detection technologies (using e.g. the polymerase chain reaction) to detect and/or confirm harmful pathogens in animals. See more about the project at http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/aph/crp/d32025-rapid-diagnosis.html; an FAO/IAEA news release about the meeting (in Arabic, English, French, Italian and Spanish) or contact [email protected] for more information.
09/04/2007
In March 2006, the Agricultural Biotechnology Network in Africa (ABNETA) was launched in Nairobi, Kenya. The initiative, run by the African Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum in collaboration with FAO, aims to help biotechnologists access information, communicate and collaborate with each other as well as key stakeholders. Its website has been recently expanded and updated, now including webpages explaining what biotechnology is and how some of the different biotechnologies work; links to relevant websites and ABNETA and FAO resources; and to a database (people or organisations can now register) built to facilitate networking among research personnel, breeders, NGOs, donors and other stakeholders around Africa. See http://www.abneta.org or contact [email protected] for more information.
08/04/2007
As part of Bioversity International`s Handbooks for Genebanks series, "Manual of seed handling in genebanks` by N.K. Rao, J. Hanson, M.E. Dulloo, K. Ghosh, D. Nowell and M. Larinde has just been published. Publication of the 147-page manual is a joint initiative of Bioversity International, FAO and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), sponsored in part by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA). The manual, which is accompanied by a self-learning module, is intended for genebank staff, especially technicians who handle orthodox seeds, and attempts to give simple explanations of procedures for the day-to-day management of seed-handing in genebanks. One of the many topics addressed in the manual is seed testing for inadvertent introduction of transgenes. See the manual (in English or French) or contact [email protected] for more information.
07/04/2007
On 21-22 February 2007, a regional workshop was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on "Assessing and designing strategies to strengthen national plant breeding and biotechnology capacity in the Caucasus", organised by FAO in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). The 4-page report of the workshop is now available. See the report or contact [email protected] for more information.
06/04/2007
The December 2006 newsletter from the Animal Production and Health Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture and the FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory is now available. The 20-page newsletter, issued twice a year, gives an overview of past and upcoming projects, publications and events. The editorial considers the issue of applying molecular tools in rumen microbiology. See the newsletter (480 KB) or contact [email protected] for more information.
05/04/2007
The January 2007 newsletter from the Plant Breeding and Genetics Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture and the FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory is now available. This 20-page newsletter, issued twice a year, gives an overview of their past and upcoming events (meetings, training courses etc.), ongoing projects and publications. See http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/pbg/public/pb-nl-18.pdf (706 KB) or contact [email protected] to request a copy.
04/04/2007
Reports of two recent meetings held under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety are now available. The first, the 3rd meeting of the ad hoc Open-ended Working Group on Liability and Redress in the Context of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, took place on 19-23 February 2007 in Montreal, Canada. The 88-page report, in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, is available with the meeting documents at http://www.biodiv.org/doc/meeting.asp?mtg=BSWGLR-03. The second, the 3rd meeting of the Compliance Committee under the Protocol on Biosafety, took place on 5-7 March 2007 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 9-page report, together with the meeting documents, is available at http://www.biodiv.org/doc/meeting.aspx?mtg=BSCC-03. Contact [email protected] for any further information.
03/04/2007
The 11th annual session of the UNCTAD Trade Commission took place on 19-23 March 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland. One of the documents, entitled "WTO panel report on the EC-biotech case: Considerations for trade and development", prepared for the session deals with the World Trade Organization (WTO) panel report in the "European Communities Measures affecting the approval and marketing of biotech products" case. See the document or contact [email protected] for more information. The UNCTAD Trade Commission is an intergovernmental forum that meets once a year and provides guidance for the work of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the area of international trade in goods, services and commodities.
02/04/2007
The 2nd meeting of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Ad Hoc Group on Biotechnology was held on 30-31 October 2006 in Paris, France. Among the items discussed were draft guidelines for somatic cell nuclear transfer in livestock; new vaccine technologies (e.g. DNA vaccines, plant-expressed antigens); and nanotechnology. The meeting report is now available. See http://www.oie.int/downld/SC/2007/A_BSC_Jan2007.pdf (Appendix VI, pages 45-60) or contact [email protected] for more information. The OIE is an inter-governmental organisation with 167 Member Countries.
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