Potato Farmers and Agri Officers Attend Workshop in Bandung and Wonosobo, Indonesia

A workshop on "Potato Resistant to Late Blight Disease (Phytophthora infestans): An Improvement through Breeding Technique and Biotechnology and its Biosafety Assessment" was held in Indonesia for farmers and agricultural officers. The workshop was conducted in Bandung on January 22 – 23, 2014 and in Wonosobo on February 6, 2014. Mr. Kusmana of Indonesian Vegetables Research Institute shared information on potato variety improvement through conventional breeding, and Dr. Dinar Ambarwati and Prof. Dr. M. Herman of ICABIOGRAD discussed biotechnology applications in trait improvement of potato resistant to late blight disease, and status and progress of biosafety assessment study on potato resistant to late blight disease (Phytophthora infestans).

The participants expressed their enthusiasm toward the application of biotech crops especially in Indonesia. Farmer participants fully supported the idea that biotechnology can be a tool to help them improve potato yield and increase their income. The event was closed by a visit to field trials for biotech potato at a farmer field in Garut and Banjarnegara. It showed participants the difference in growth between biotech and conventional crops. The workshop brought together 66 farmers and agricultural officials from West Java and Central Java through the support of the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project (ABSPII) in collaboration with IndoBIC and ICABIOGRAD, ISAAA, and SEAMEO BIOTROP.

For details of the workshop contact Dewi Suryani of IndoBIC at catleyavanda@gmail.com.