Global Biotech Information Network Celebrates 10th Year

In 1999, senior policy makers from Southeast Asia involved in food biotechnology crops noted that "developing countries have been eclipsed in the dialogue on food biotechnology crops" and that there was lack of current and authoritative information. They recommended that an information center be established to address this need. Hence, in September 2000, the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, more popularly known as the KC, was set up to facilitate informed decision-making on crop biotechnology among different stakeholders in the developing world.

The KC is a program of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) based at the Southeast Asia Center in the Philippines. It assumes a critical role in global efforts to enable stakeholders or attentive publics to create greater awareness and understanding of crop biotechnology, contribute to the formation of public opinion, and even frame the debate and shape policy. Innovative multi-media approaches, networking, and various interpersonal avenues provide opportunities for science communication to thrive. Aside from the KC, the network now includes 24 Biotechnology Information Centers/country nodes in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe.

The KC releases The Annual Global Status Report of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops authored by Dr. Clive James, ISAAA founder and chair, which remains to be the most authoritative single source of information and most cited reference on the subject. The Report registered an estimated 2.1 billion impressions, or the number of people who were likely to have come in contact with the media story about the Report. In addition, the weekly e-newsletter, the Crop Biotech Update, is sent to a subscriber list of 851,197 worldwide.

Download the KC 10-year report at http://www.isaaa.org/programs/knowledgecenter/reports/from_paper_to_partnerships/default.asp