Biotechnology, A Must for Indonesia

“We need a good communication strategy to raise public awareness on biotechnology in Indonesia. Genetic modification techniques should be utilized in the country to produce more and nutritionally superior food,” said the head of the Indonesian Science Institute (LIPI), Prof Umar Anggara Jenie during the opening discussion of the symposium on The Role of Modern Biotechnology in Food Security held in Jakarta. Highlighting the affair was the talk of the Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Marine Affairs, Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Dr. Bayu Krisnamurthi who underscored the importance of biotechnology in addressing global food requirements. He noted the challenges faced by Indonesia including the higher food demand compared to food production, climate change that affects plant growth pattern and the new demand for biofuel. He ended by saying that. “We should think out-of -the-box to use all the opportunities to feed ourselves”.

The event attended by 60 participants from different sectors of the society was organized by the Indonesian Biosafety Clearing House in collaboration with the Indonesian Biotechnology Consortium. The topics covered the status of food sufficiency in Indonesia; challenges and efforts to increase food sufficiency; the role of research in order to support food sufficiency; role of modern biotechnology for genetically modified products; and role of genetically modified product regulation in Indonesia.

For more information on this event, visit http://www.indonesiabch.org/ or email deswina@indonesiabch.org. For news on biotechnology in Indonesia, email Dewi Suryani of Indonesian Biotechnology Information Center at dewisuryani@biotrop.org.