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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.
10/06/2004
The 6th Session of the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (ICPM, the governing body for the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)) took place from 29 March to 2 April 2004 in Rome, Italy. At the meeting, the ICPM adopted the supplement to International Standards on Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) No. 11 (Pest risk analysis for quarantine pests) on pest risk analysis for living modified organisms. See a FAO press release (in Arabic, English, French and Spanish) at http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2004/43684/index.html or contact [email protected] for more information. The IPPC is a multilateral treaty, administered through the IPPC Secretariat located in FAO Headquarters, whose purpose is to secure a common and effective action to prevent the spread and introduction of pests of plants and plant products, and to promote appropriate measures for their control.
09/06/2004
The background document for the upcoming FAO e-mail conference (14 June to 11 July 2004) entitled "Biotechnology applications in food processing: Can developing countries benefit?" is now available. It aims to give a short, easily-understandable overview of the application of biotechnology to the processing of food (including beverages) produced from agriculture. It provides an introduction to the subject, describes the current status of biotechnology in food processing and, finally, considers some areas specifically relevant to developing countries. See http://www.fao.org/biotech/C11doc.htm or contact [email protected] to request a copy of the document or to subscribe to the e-mail conference.
08/06/2004
As part of its ESA Working Papers series, FAO`s Agricultural and Development Economics Division (ESA) has just published "The economic impacts of biotechnology-based technological innovations" (Paper 04-08, 305 KB) and "Public attitudes towards agricultural biotechnology" (Paper 04-09, 219 KB), by G. Traxler and T.J. Hoban respectively. ESA Working Papers are circulated to stimulate discussion and comments. See http://www.fao.org/es/ESA/en/pubs_wp.htm or contact [email protected] to request a copy of the papers.
07/06/2004
The report of the 32nd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling, which took place on 10-14 May 2004 in Montréal, Canada, is now available. One of the items (nr. 6) on the agenda dealt with "Labelling of foods and food ingredients obtained through certain techniques of genetic modification / genetic engineering". See report ALINORM 04/22 (together with the meeting agenda and working documents) at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/reports.asp or contact [email protected] for further information.
06/06/2004
On 25 May 2004, FAO launched the International Portal for Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health. Developed by FAO, and in association with the organisations responsible for international standard setting in sanitary and phytosanitary matters, this website provides a single access point for authorised official international and national information across the sectors of food safety, animal health and plant health. It currently contains over 15,000 items (food safety and food quality standards, regulations and other relevant official materials), many translated into several languages. Information can be browsed in a number of ways, including by cross-sectorial themes such as biotechnology. See http://www.ipfsaph.org or contact [email protected] for more information.
05/06/2004
The Secretariat of the Science Council of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has just published "Applications of molecular biology and genomics to genetic enhancement of crop tolerance to abiotic stress - A discussion document" by M. Gale. It also includes an annex on "Status of breeding for tolerance of abiotic stresses and prospects for use of molecular techniques" by J. Bennett and on "Genetic engineering for abiotic stress tolerance in plants" by H. Uchimiya. The Secretariat is based in FAO Headquarters, Rome. See http://www.fao.org/WAIRDOCS/TAC/Y5198E/Y5198E00.HTM or contact [email protected] to request a copy.
04/06/2004
A series of six sub-regional workshops on "Development of a regulatory regime and administrative systems for national biosafety frameworks" was recently held under the UNEP-GEF Project on Development of National Biosafety Frameworks. Reports from the workshops on 9-12 March 2004 in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, and on 11-14 May 2004 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, are now published on the web. These reports, plus the latest UNEP-GEF Biosafety Newsletter (April 2004), are available at http://www.unep.ch/biosafety/devdocuments.htm or contact [email protected] for more information.
03/06/2004
The 3rd meeting of the Working Group on GMOs established under the Aarhus Convention (i.e. the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters) took place on 24-26 March 2004 in Geneva, Switzerland. An advance copy of the 17-page meeting report is now available. See http://www.unece.org/env/pp/gmo.htm or contact [email protected] for more information.
02/06/2004
The 7th session of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development was held on 24-28 May 2004 in Geneva, Switzerland. It addressed the substantive theme, "Promoting the application of science and technology to meet the development goals contained in the Millennium Declaration". Numerous reports from the meeting are available on the web, including an official 24-page document prepared by the UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) Secretariat on the substantive theme, which includes a discussion on the risks and benefits of new and emerging technologies, including biotechnologies. See http://stdev.unctad.org/unsystem/cstd/7session.html or contact [email protected] for more information.
01/06/2004
The Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), National University of Colombia and International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), with the support of the Red de instituciones vinculadas a la capacitación en economía y políticas agrícolas en América Latina y el Caribe (REDCAPA), are launching a distance learning course on "Conservación ex situ de recursos fitogenéticos" (Ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources). Applications for the 30-40 places in this Spanish-language course, which runs from 17 August to 5 November 2004, can be made until 30 June. CIAT and IPGRI are two of the 15 research centres supported by the CGIAR. See http://www.redcapa.org.br/espanol/cursos/mas-ex-situ.htm or contact [email protected] for more information.
14/05/2004
On 16-18 June 2003, an Expert Consultation on the `"Environmental effects of genetically modified crops" was organised at FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy, by FAO`s Plant Production and Protection Division. The aim of the consultation was to assess the current understanding of the effects of GM crops on ecosystems, identify gaps and priorities and indicate the role of FAO in this context. The 17-page consultation report is now available on the web. See http://www.fao.org/ag/doc/EEGMCsumm.htm (report in English, summary in Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Spanish) or contact FAO to request a copy.
13/05/2004
As part of its FAO Legislative Study series, the FAO Legal Office has published "Law and modern biotechnology: Selected issues of relevance to food and agriculture" by L. Glowka. This 172-page study reviews international, regional and a selection of national laws related to GMOs. Three categories of legal instruments are considered: those dealing with biosafety, food safety and consumer protection. The study includes issues such as public participation in the policy-making and regulatory decision-making process; oversight mechanisms to examine the merits of GMOs in the areas of biosafety, food safety or consumer protection and provides some general conclusions on major gaps and trends of existing biotechnology-related legislation. See http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/006/Y4839E/Y4839E00.HTMor contact [email protected] to request a copy.
12/05/2004
The Plant Breeding and Genetic Section of the joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture has just released "Low cost options for tissue culture technology in developing countries" on the web. This 106-page publication was prepared on the basis of contributions made at a meeting on "Low cost tissue culture technology for developing countries", held on 26-30 August 2002 in Vienna, Austria. It describes options for reducing costs in the establishment and operation of plant tissue culture facilities and focuses primarily on plant micropropagation. It includes the basics of tissue culture technology, bioreactors, low-cost options in the design of laboratories, use of media and containers, energy and labour saving, integration and adoption of low cost options, increasing plant survival after propagation, and outreach of material to growers and farmers in developing countries. See http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1384_web.pdf (1061 KB) or contact IAEA for more information or to request a hard copy.
11/05/2004
As part of its ESA Working Papers series, FAO`s Agricultural and Development Economics Division (ESA) has just published "Private research and public goods: Implications of biotechnology for biodiversity" by T. Raney and P. Pingali. This 31-page document explores a range of policy options to increase the likelihood that private sector research and development, particularly in the form of transgenic crops, enhances rather than erodes crop genetic diversity. The ESA Working Papers series presents ESAs ongoing research and papers are circulated to stimulate discussion and comments. See http://www.fao.org/es/ESA/pdf/wp/ESAWP04_07.pdf or contact [email protected] to request a copy of the paper.
10/05/2004
The report of the 25th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling, held on 8-12 March 2004 in Budapest, Hungary, is now available. One of the items on the agenda was "Criteria for the methods for the detection and identification of foods derived from biotechnology - General approach and criteria for the methods". See the agenda and meeting report (ALINORM 04/23) at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/reports.asp or contact [email protected] for further information.
09/05/2004
The 20th Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles took place in Paris, France, on 3-7 May 2004. Item 4 on the agenda addressed "Proposed draft working principles for risk analysis for food safety". The meeting report, with the agenda and working documents, will be provided at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/reports.asp. Contact [email protected] for more information.
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