The conference agreed on the key elements necessary to put agricultural biotechnologies at the service of the developing world: increased investments, international cooperation and effective and enabling national policies and regulatory frameworks.

"Agricultural biotechnologies are not being widely used in developing countries, and research and development in agricultural biotechnologies have not generally been targeted towards the needs and problems of smallholders", said FAO Assistant Director-General, Modibo Traore. "This is something that has to change", he added.

Around 300 people from 68 countries, including experts, policy makers and representatives of civil society and international organizations attended the conference.

National vision

Every country should have a clear national vision for the role of biotechnologies, and examine the options and opportunities within the context of national economic, social and sustainable rural development and environmental strategies and objectives, the conference recommended.

This vision should be built in a process involving all stakeholders and be supported by effective communication and participation strategies to encourage and promote public involvement and empowerment in the decision-making.

The conference agreed on the need for effective and enabling national biotechnology policies and regulatory frameworks that facilitate the development and use of appropriate biotechnologies in developing countries.

It also agreed on increased national investments by developing countries in the development and use of biotechnologies to support in particular, smallholders and producers.

International support

According to the participants, stronger partnerships among and within countries such as South-South and regional alliances, public-private and research partnerships for sharing experiences, information and technologies, will facilitate development and use of biotechnologies.

Making agricultural biotechnologies accessible to developing countries and ensuring that they respond to the particular needs of small-scale farmers and producers will require the support of FAO and other relevant international organizations and donors. This is particularly needed to strengthen national capacities in the development and use of appropriate agricultural biotechnologies directed to the needs of smallholders and producers in developing countries.

Biotechnologies are much more than GMOs

Agricultural biotechnologies encompass a wide-range of tools and methodologies that are being applied to some extent in crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, and agro-industries, to help alleviate hunger and poverty, assist in adaptation to climate change, and maintain the natural resource base, in developing countries.

The debate encompassing GMOs often hinders the development of other agriculture biotechnologies where there's no controversy about their environmental impacts and the benefits to small producers, as well as their important role in mitigating and adapting to climate change.

Many case studies illustrating how biotechnologies can help sustainable development were presented at the conference: from the use of DNA markers to improve the Deccani sheep in India, to molecular characterization to develop improved microbial cultures for fermented foods and drinks in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Thailand.

"There are many biotechnologies being applied in some developing countries, such as fermentation and artificial insemination. We must focus our efforts in improving the access of developing countries to these biotechnologies", said Shivaji Pandey, Director of FAO's Plant Production and Protection Division.

"Modern and conventional biotechnologies provide potent tools for the agriculture sector, including fisheries and forestry," said Modibo Traore, FAO Assistant Director-General, addressing the international technical conference on Agricultural Biotechnologies in Developing Countries in Guadalajara, Mexico.

"But biotechnologies are not yet making a significant impact in the lives of people in most developing countries," Traore said. "At present, there is a lack of appropriate and useful technologies, policies, technical capacities, and requisite infrastructure for their development, evaluation and deployment in most developing countries."

The conference in Guadalajara is reviewing past successes and failures of biotechnologies across the different food and agricultural sectors in developing countries. The meeting is not focused on genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Too much emphasis on GMOs

According to FAO, biotechnological innovations can be of significant assistance in doubling food production by the year 2050 and in addressing the uncertainties of climate change. "In the past few decades, the field of biotechnologies has advanced at a formidable speed and generated numerous innovations particularly in the field of pharmaceuticals and some in the field of agriculture," Traore said.

The innovations in agriculture include highly successful rice hybrids for Africa that have doubled rice yields, the use of artificial insemination to raise dairy cattle milk yields in Bangladesh and the use of DNA-based methods to detect shrimp diseases in India.    

But most biotechnologies cannot be fully exploited because "often, there is emphasis on genetically modified organisms only, which overshadows all other biotechnologies and their potential contribution to agriculture. In addition, the synergy between the public and private sector remains to be harnessed."

FAO called for a new approach to agricultural research and development supporting the wider and wiser use of agricultural biodiversity to promote development and improve food security.

"New technologies should make their contributions also through efficiency gains from better management of inputs and biodiversity. This will require greater involvement of farmers, institutions and communities. It will require other enabling factors such as policies, institutional support, and investment in human and physical capital and in-country capacity building. FAO focuses its activities on support to smallholders in order to sustainably increase agricultural productions, improve access to markets and enhance livelihoods," Traore said.

The international community should play a key role in supporting developing countries by fostering partnerships and providing a framework for international cooperation and funding for the generation, adaptation and adoption of appropriate biotechnologies.

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