Webinar: Legal framework for emerging biotechnologies in plant breeding – International experience in regulating genetically modified seeds

10:00-13:30 p.m. CET

Agricultural biotechnology is built with competencies and technical skills that describe the fundamental use of it in plant as medicine and food and defined as a set of tools that use living organisms or parts of it to make or modify a product, improve plants, trees, or develop microorganisms to favor the expression of desired physiological traits or the generation of desired biological products, which includes some more modern biotechnologies such as genome editing, synthetic DNA components and artificial chromosomes, and targeted epigenetic modifications. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is an international legally binding treaty that aims to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by Living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology. The potential risks include transgene flow to wild relatives, loss of genetic diversity, invasiveness, changes in agricultural practice that may be unsustainable, and changes in ecosystem landscape and functions, among others. The issue of socio-economic considerations is critical for countries where small and family farmers constitute the majority of farmers, and where a policy decision has already been taken to promote organic agriculture, which excludes the use of LMOs. Analyze the potential socio-economic of the adoption of ethically modified organisms and emerging biotechnologies is essential when it comes to the seed sector.

The objective of the project to raise awareness on the potential impact of emerging biotechnologies and genetically modified organisms in the region and the need for an adequate policy framework with a specific focus on genetically modified seeds.