FAO Global Agrifood Biotechnologies Conference
Biotechnologies for a Sustainable Future: Driving Agrifood Systems Transformation
Programme
16 - 18 june 2025, FAO, Rome
Climate-Resilient Future: Adapting to biotic and abiotic stresses through biotechnologies
Tuesday 17 June
16.00 - 17.30
Sheikh Zayed Centre
The technical session will explore the transformative potential of biotechnologies contributing to development of plant varieties resistance to diseases and tolerance to drought. The session will show case examples of major initiatives of leading international research and development organizations. The discussion will also highlight opportunities of developing next-generation plant breeding technologies to accelerate the creation of resilient and diverse crops, particularly in response to climate change. This session will highlight accessible and affordable biotechnological innovations for climate change adaptation, and discuss specificity of some regional initiatives, and opportunities of plant microbiomes research and the development of microbial pro- and pre-biotic products for a more sustainable agriculture.
- CGIAR Gene editing initiative: Improving diseases resistance and drought tolerance of rice
Ms Inez Stamet-Loedin, Head of the Rice Genetic Design and Validation Unit, International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Philippines - Biotechnologies for climate resilience: Experiences from UNESCO's Asia-Pacific regional programme in Natural Sciences
Mr Ahmed Fahmi, Chief of Science Unit, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Bangkok - Biotechnologies for adapting to climate change: Improving resilience of smallholders in Africa
Mr Sylvester Oikeh Manager Biotech Maize seed system AATF, Nairobi, Kenya (On-line) - Developing next-generation plant breeding technologies to accelerate the creation of resilient and diverse crops, particularly in response to climate change
Ms Ying Shao, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Plantik Biosciences, Paris, France - ACIAR's biotechnological interventions to boost agricultural productivity, sustainability and food system resilience in South Asia
Ms Pratibha Singh, Regional Manager, South Asia, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Australian High Commission, New Delhi, India (On-line) - Plant microbiomes and the development of microbial pro- and pre-biotic products for a more sustainable agriculture
Mr Vittorio Venturi, Group Leader, ICGEB & Professor, African Genome Center, UM6P, Morocco