PRRI Releases Open Letter to IAASTD

The chapter on biotechnology in the synthesis report of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science, and Technology for Development (IAASTD), an international effort to evaluate the relevance quality and effectiveness of agricultural knowledge, science and technology, is the focus of “deep concern” of the Public Research and Regulation Initiative (PRRI). In an open letter addressed to the organizations and governments involved in IAASTD, Professor Marc van Montagu, chairman of the Steering Committee of PRRI, noted that the report, which was published for technical comments on the IAASTD website, lacked an in-depth exploration that “show a lack of understanding of the challenges at hand and of the potential of biotechnology”.

The open letter urged that a group of experts in various fields of expertise “actively and critically explore how agricultural knowledge, science and technology can contribute to meeting goals such as reducing hunger and poverty, improving health and livelihoods, and facilitating sustainability with the active role of biotechnology, especially from the public sector.”

Read the open letter at http://www.pubresreg.org.