IGI Leads Development of Technical Approach to Global Plant Genome Editing Regulation

The Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) hosted the International Regulatory Capacity Building for Genome-edited Agriculture Workshop in Berkeley in early 2024. Regulators from 16 countries and representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) discussed global capacity building for the regulation of genome-edited crops.

The workshop provided valuable insights into the regulatory landscape around the world. It aimed to provide technical support for regulators evaluating applications for genome-edited crops and other agricultural products and focused on countries that are either in the process of developing genome-editing guidelines, or have recently finalized new guidelines and are beginning to implement them.

In a new paper published in Nature Biotechnology, participants of the workshop and organizing group share what was learned to provide a framework and practical suggestions to help countries adapt to the quickly expanding world of plant genome editing, and to develop science-based policies.

The insights from the workshop are available in the paper published in Nature Biotechnology. For more details, read the news article and workshop press release in the IGI website.