17 February 2016, Rome – About 500 scientists, representatives of government, civil society, the private sector, academia, farmers' associations and cooperatives took part in the symposium discussing agricultural biotechnologies much broader than genetically modified organisms. FAO Director-General was speaking at the closure of the international symposium on agricultural biotechnologies hosted by FAO, which debated the potential of new biotechnologies, “low-tech and high-tech” to benefit family farmers, especially those in developing countries.