28 February 2013: Background document of Conference 19 posted. Subject: Impacts of genomics and other ‘omics’ for the crop, forestry, livestock, fishery and agro-industry sectors in developing countries (90 KB).
11 January 2013: Conference 18, "GMOs in the pipeline: Looking to the next five years in the crop, forestry, livestock, aquaculture and agro-industry sectors in developing countries": Summary Document posted.
29 October 2012. Background document of Conference 18 posted. Subject: GMOs in the pipeline: Looking to the next five years in the crop, forestry, livestock, aquaculture and agro-industry sectors in developing countries (60 KB).
8 November 2011. Background document of Conference 17 posted. Subject: Strengthening partnerships in agricultural biotechnologies for the benefit of smallholders in developing countries: Discussing North-South, South-South, Public-Private cooperation and more (75 KB).
12 November 2010: Conference 16, "Learning from the past: Successes and failures with agricultural biotechnologies in developing countries over the last 20 years": Summary Document posted.
4 June 2009: Background document of Conference 16 posted. Subject: Learning from the past: Successes and failures with agricultural biotechnologies in developing countries over the last 20 years. The document is also available in PDF.
14 January 2009: As part of the FAO Land and Water Discussion Papers series, Coping with water scarcity: What role for biotechnologies? by J. Ruane, A. Sonnino, P. Steduto and C. Deane, is now published. The 39-page book presents the background and summary documents from Conference 14 of the FAO Biotechnology Forum. Contact [email protected] to request a copy.
21 October 2008: Background document of Conference 15 posted. Subject: The role of agricultural biotechnologies for production of bioenergy in developing countries.
19 December 2007: Conference 14, "Coping with water scarcity in developing countries: What role for agricultural biotechnologies?: Summary Document posted.
5 February 2007: Background document of Conference 14 posted. Subject: Coping with water scarcity in developing countries: What role for agricultural biotechnologies?.
26 January 2007: FAO Research and Technology Paper 11, entitled Results from the FAO Biotechnology Forum: Background and dialogue on selected issues, by J. Ruane and A. Sonnino, is now available. The 152-page book presents the background and summary documents from Conferences 7 to 12 hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum from 2002 to 2005, relating to agricultural biotechnology for the crop, forestry, animal, fisheries and agro-industry sectors in developing countries. Three of the six conferences focused on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), dealing with gene flow from GM to non-GM populations; regulation of GMOs; and participation of the rural people in decision-making regarding GMOs. Two conferences covered the entire range of biotechnology tools (including GMOs), dealing with the role and focus of biotechnology in the agricultural research agenda and, secondly, applications of biotechnology in food processing. The remaining conference dealt with molecular marker-assisted selection. Contact [email protected] to request a copy.
21 June 2006: The role of biotechnology in exploring and protecting agricultural genetic resources published. An 187-page FAO book, edited by J. Ruane and A. Sonnino, bringing together papers from an international workshop held on 5-7 March 2005 in Turin, Italy, on the role of biotechnology for the characterization and conservation of crop, forest, animal and fishery genetic resources as well as the background and summary documents from Conference 13 on the same subject that was held three months afterwards. Contact [email protected] to request a copy.
13 June 2006: Conference 9, "Regulating GMOs in developing and transition countries": Summary Document posted.
8 November 2005: Conference 13, "The role of biotechnology for the characterisation and conservation of crop, forest, animal and fishery genetic resources in developing countries": Summary Document posted.
23 September 2005: Conference 12, "Public participation in decision-making regarding GMOs in developing countries: How to effectively involve rural people": Summary Document posted.
2 August 2005: Conference 11, "Biotechnology applications in food processing: Can developing countries benefit?": Summary Document posted.
27 May 2005: Background document of Conference 13 posted. Subject: The role of biotechnology for the characterisation and conservation of crop, forest, animal and fishery genetic resources in developing countries.
17 December 2004: Background document of Conference 12 posted. Subject: Public participation in decision-making regarding GMOs in developing countries: How to effectively involve rural people.
13 July 2004: Conference 10, "Molecular marker assisted selection as a potential tool for genetic improvement of crops, forest trees, livestock and fish in developing countries": Summary Document posted.
3 June 2004: Background document of Conference 11 posted. Subject: Biotechnology applications in food processing: Can developing countries benefit?.
20 February 2004: Conference 8, "What should be the role and focus of biotechnology in the agricultural research agendas of developing countries?": Summary Document posted.
November 2003: FAO Research and Technology Paper 8, published in 2002 in English is now available in Spanish, entitled "Biotecnología agrícola para países en desarrollo - Resultados de un foro electrónico", in HTML or PDF format.
10 November 2003: Background document of Conference 10 posted. Subject: Molecular marker assisted selection as a potential tool for genetic improvement of crops, forest trees, livestock and fish in developing countries.
7 April 2003: Background document of Conference 9 posted. Subject: Regulating GMOs in developing and transition countries.
22 January 2003: Conference 7, GMOs and Gene Flow. Short Summary Document posted.
8 November 2002: Background document of Conference 8 posted. Subject: What should be the role and focus of biotechnology in the agricultural research agendas of developing countries?
6 September 2002: Conference 7, GMOs and Gene Flow: Long Summary Document posted.
29 May 2002: Background document of Conference 7 posted. Subject: Gene flow from GM to non-GM populations in the crop, forestry, animal and fishery sectors.
19 April 2002: FAO Research and Technology Paper 8, entitled Agricultural Biotechnology for Developing Countries - Results of an Electronic Forum has now been published in hardcopy form (111 pages) and on the web. It presents a report on the first six conferences of the Forum. It includes the Background and Summary documents for each of the conferences (i.e. six chapters), as well as four seperate chapters giving an introduction; information about participation in the conferences; general conclusions and, finally, additional material (references to documents and websites).
21 August 2001: Conference 6, Impact of IPRs: Short Summary Document posted.
16 August 2001: Conference 6, Impact of IPRs: Long Summary Document posted.
16 August 2001: A brief summary of the main discussions in Conference 1 has been published in the journal Biotecnología Aplicada (2001, 18 (1), 47-50)
08 August 2001: Livestock Production Science, the journal of the European Association for Animal Production, has just published a 2-page description of the Biotech Forum in Livestock Production Science 70, 253-255. It includes a description of the 6 conferences, links to the website and the short version of the Summary Document of the animal sector conference (Conference 3).
24 July 2001: Conference 5, Food security: Short Summary Document posted [sent to Forum members 9 July].
28 June 2001: Conference 5, Food security: Long Summary Document posted.
22 June 2001: Conference 4, Fishery sector: Short Summary Document posted.
21 June 2001: Conference 3, Animal sector: Long Summary Document posted.
14 May 2001: Conference 6 of the FAO Biotechnology Forum is now closed. It has been an active and successful conference on an important theme and we hope you also have found it of benefit and interest. A total of 265 people registered for the conference and 50 messages were posted. All the messages posted can be found on the Forum website. testsite/biotechnology/biotech-forum/conference-6/en/
03 May 2001: Because many participants in this FAO conference will have been away on Easter holidays, Conference 6 will be extended to Sunday 13th May.
27 April 2001: Conference 4, Fishery sector: Long Summary Document posted.
18 April 2001: Many important points have been raised in the Background Document to conference 6 and in the 28 messages posted so far. In the remaining two and a half weeks, we welcome your reactions and thoughts on these, as well as on any other aspects of the role/implications of intellectual property rights on food and agriculture in developing countries.
30 March 2001: Update from the Forum Administrator on Biotech Conference 6 (IPRs)
20 March 2001: Conference 6 - IPRs - begins. See discussion.
13 March 2001: Short version of the Summary Document for Conference 1 [crop sector] posted.
12 March 2001: Background document of Conference 6 posted: "The impact of intellectual property rights (IPRs) on food and agriculture in developing countries". This conference will begin Tuesday 20 March and finish on Monday 30 April 2001. To participate, see Join Forum.
16 January 2001: After the fourth conference was completed (8 October), a short report on the first four conferences of the FAO Biotechnology Forum was written. This was posted on the website of FAO's Sustainable Development Department on 15 December.
03 January 2001: The next Conference (Conference 6) is due to begin in March 2001. The topic of the conference will be the impact of intellectual property rights on food and agriculture in developing countries. Further details will be provided later.
29 December 2000: The Biotechnology Forum website was chosen by New Scientist as the "Site of the Day" on 29 December.
18 December 2000: Conference 5 closes after 118 postings.
15 December 2000: Summary Document - Conference 2 (Forestry) sent to Forum members.
14 November 2000: Update from the Forum Administrator on Biotech Conference 5 (Hunger/Food Security)
2 November 2000: First posting in Conference 5.
1 November 2000: Conference 5 opens [food security].
8 October 2000: Conference 4 (fisheries sector) concluded.
Many thanks to all who contributed !
3 October 2000: Conference 5 will be the last conference of the year 2000 and is entitled "Can agricultural biotechnology help to reduce hunger and increase food security in developing countries?". It is expected to run from 1 November to 17 December.
2 October 2000: Summary document for Conference 1 (crops) available in long version.
28 September 2000: Because Conference 4 started slowly, we will extend the conference by one week to allow participants to have a full opportunity to share their views and experiences on the appropriateness of currently available biotechnologies for the fishery sector in developing countries and/or to respond to or comment on some of the interesting messages that have been posted recently.
14 September 2000: See Summary update on Conference 4 (Fishery Sector) from the Moderator.
25 August 2000: Conference 3 (animal sector) concluded.
Many thanks to all who contributed !
18 August 2000: Because of both the quantity and quality of the messages received this week in Conference 3, this conference has been extended by one further week, to allow participants to respond to these message or to address any other elements concerning the appropriateness of biotechnology in the animal sector in developing countries. The final date for posting messages is thus Friday 25 August.
14 August 2000: Conference 3 has been extended one week until August 18.
01 August 2000: Background document of Conference 4 (fishery sector) posted. Subject: How appropriate are currently available biotechnologies for the fishery sector in developing countries ?
28 July 2000: The Forum website was chosen by Science on 28 July (p. 503) as a "Hot Pick" in the Netwatch section of the journal. Quote: "Biotech for the Third World. What can agricultural biotechnology offer developing countries? A lively discussion on everything from animal cloning to terminator technology and trees has been going on at this site since March, with e-mails coming in from Indonesia to Mali."
12 July 2000: Summary update 5 from the Moderator of Conference 3: "Update of Conference 3: One Month Gone, One Month Left."
10 July 2000: The Internet Scout Project has selected the Electronic Forum on Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture for inclusion in the Scout Report.
29 June 2000: Conference 2 (forestry sector) concluded.
Many thanks to all who participated !
20 June 2000: First posting in Conference 3 (animal agriculture). Subject: Biotechnology and animal breeding.
08 June 2000: Background document of Conference 3 posted:
"The appropriateness, significance and application of biotechnology options in the animal agriculture of developing countries". The conference will begin June 12.
29 May 2000 : Conference 1 (crop sector) concluded.
Many thanks to all who participated in this interesting debate !
25 May 2000: Summary update 4 from the Forum Administrator: "Conference 2 - one month gone, one month left."
07 May 2000: Summary update 3 from the Forum Administrator. The main aim of this update is to attempt, in a rough and approximate way, to summarise the main aspects of Conference 1 so far.
04 May 2000: First posting in Conference 2.
25 April 2000: Conference 2 opened (Forestry sector).
20 April 2000: Also available: General references and links concerning biotechnology and the forestry sector
20 April 2000: Background document of Conference 2 posted: "How appropriate are currently available biotechnologies for the forestry sector in developing countries". The conference will begin April 25.
11 April 2000: Summary update 2 from the Forum Administrator to Forum members on Conference 1 (crop sector) and the upcoming Conference 2 (forestry sector).
30 March 2000: Summary update 1 on the first week of discussions in Conference 1 from the Forum Administrator.
24 March 2000: The first logs of Conference 1 posted.
20 March 2000: FAO News & Highlights story on the Forum published: FAO launches an electronic forum on biotechnology
20 March 2000: Conference 1 launched: "How appropriate are currently available biotechnologies in the crop sector for food production and agriculture in developing countries".
15 March 2000: FAO Press Release 00/17: FAO stresses potential of biotechnology but calls for caution
14 March 2000: It is planned to begin with four conferences which will deal with the crop, forestry, animal and fish sectors separately. The first conference will begin March 20, 2000 and deals with the theme of "How appropriate are currently available biotechnologies in the crop sector for food production and agriculture in developing countries". The next conferences - addressing the forestry, animal and fish sectors - follow the same theme and begin with one month intervals.
