Nouvelles
FAO moderated e-mail conference entitled "The role of agricultural biotechnologies for production of bioenergy in developing countries" took place from 10 November to 14 December 2008. Major topics of discussion included applications of biotechnologies in jatropha; the potential benefits for small-scale farmers of applying biotechnologies for bioenergy production; biogas production in developing countries; and production of enzymes for efficient bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass to liquid biofuels. Of the different biotechnologies, most attention was paid to applications of genetic modification, molecular markers and tissue culture in crops for biofuel purposes
The background document for the FAO e-mail conference entitled "The role of agricultural biotechnologies for production of bioenergy in developing countries" is now available. The 22-page document gives an overview of the current status regarding bioenergy, focusing on first- and second-generation liquid biofuels, including the reasons for the major current focus on liquid biofuels as well as current concerns about them.