Biotech Updates

Seminar on Global Socio-Economic and Environmental Impacts in Indonesia

September 9, 2015

"In 2013, the 18th year of widespread adoption of crops using biotechnology innovations, the technology has continued to provide more productive agriculture, higher incomes to farmers and a better environment for citizens. Majority of these benefits continues to go to farmers and rural communities in developing countries. Between 1996 and 2013, crop biotechnology was responsible for additional global production of 138 million tonnes of soybeans and 274 million tonnes of corn. The technology has also contributed an extra 21.7 million tonnes of cotton lint and 8 million tonnes of canola" said Graham Brookes, director of PG Economics, co-author of the GM Crops: global socio-economic and environmental impacts 1996-2013 report during a seminar in Jakarta, on 4 September 2015.

The seminar on Global Socio-Economic and Environmental Impacts 1996- 2013 was conducted in collaboration with CropLife Indonesia, the Indonesian Society for Agricultural Biotechnology (PBPI) and SEAMEO BIOTROP and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). This event brought together 50 participants from universities, industries, and media to raise awareness on the socio economic consideration of biotechnology in Indonesia. Dr. Parulian Hutagaol Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) also emphasized the need to develop new innovation system and support technological change to improve the productivity and efficiency in agriculture.

For more information, contact Dewi Suryani of IndoBIC at catleyavanda@gmail.com.