The Egypt chapter of the Open Forum in Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB) was launched last week in Cairo. OFAB provides an opportunity for key agri-biotech stakeholders to network, share knowledge and experiences, and explore new avenues of collaboration in bringing the benefits of science and technology to the African agricultural sector. Governmental officials, media, scientists and representatives of the private sector attended the launch.

In his address to OFAB, Prof. Mohamed El Garhy, vice president of Agricultural Research Center (ARC), said that "biotechnology offers a great help to the agricultural sector" and that "biotech applications can help face the agricultural challenges in Africa". Prof. Ahmed Bahieldin, Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI) director, discussed the most important challenges being faced by the agricultural sector in Africa and how Egypt can help. He stressed the use of an integrated strategy and to consider as high priority the use of biotechnology. Dr. Randy Hautea, global coordinator of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), highlighted the role of the Egypt Biotechnology Information Center (EBIC) in communicating biotech in Egypt and North Africa.

OFAB-Egypt will operate through a collaborative agreement between the African Agricultural Technology Foundation and ISAAA AfriCenter.

For more details about the OFAB launch, email Ismail Abdel Hamid at isamail@isaaa.org..