Expert Consultation on Agri-Biotech for Food Security

The Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutes (APAARI) expert consultation meeting on agricultural biotechnology this year was hosted by the Malaysian Agricultural Research & Development Institute (MARDI) with the support of Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation and the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Center (MABIC). The meeting was officiated by the Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Dato’ Mustapa Mohamed who acknowledged modern biotechnology, particularly GM technology, as one of the tools that will help countries to transform their agriculture sector.

This expert meeting saw the convergence of prominent experts in the area of agribiotech from around the world to discuss how agribiotech could play a key role in addressing the global food crisis and security issues. The meeting discussed the recent research advances in agribiotech, status of agribiotech research and applications in the Asia Pacific region as well as the African regions, the adoption of GM crops to ensure food security, and global status on the adoption of GM crops among other topics. Special lectures focused on the use marker aided selection and genomics for crop improvement, and producing disease free planting material and germplasm conservation using biotechnology. The meeting also deliberated on global and regional partnership programmes such as Golden Rice, ABSP II, APCoAB, and AARINENA.

For details of  the meeting and for information on biotechnology in Malaysia, contact Mahaletchumy Arujanan at maha@bic.org.my of the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Center.