Biotech Updates

Indonesian Government Officials and Farmers Briefed on Biotech

June 10, 2011

A workshop on "The Role of Biotechnology in Potato Breeding and its Regulations in Indonesia" for government officials and farmers of Banjarnegara and Wonosobo was successfully concluded in Wonosobo, Indonesia on 25 May 2011, featuring prominent scientists and government officials as speakers.

The head of agricultural bureau of Wonosobo, Ir. Suharso, MSi fully supported the activity and mentioned that Wonosobo and Banjarnegara are potato producing-areas that really need new technologies that can help farmers enhance their production and income. He believes in the potential of biotechnology in solving the most devastating potato late blight disease.

Dr. M. Herman and Dr. Dinar Ambarwati of ICABIOGRAD discussed biotechnology products and its regulations in Indonesia and biotechnology applications in potato trait improvement, respectively; while Mrs. Euis Suryaningsih Widjaja from the Indonesian Vegetables Research Institute (IVRI) discussed the late blight disease (Phytophthora infestans) and its eco-friendly control.Mr. Kusmana, also of IVRI, discussed potato variety improvement through conventional breeding.

This is the first workshop on potato breeding for the 44 agricultural officials and farmers in Indonesia, which was jointly organized by the Indonesian Biotechnology Information Center and Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSP II) and supported by SEAMEO BIOTROP, Cornell University and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications It aimed to build biotech knowledge of stakeholders especially government officials and farmers in the application of biotechnology in potato crop breeding.

For more information on the workshop and on  biotechnology in Indonesia, contact Dewi Suryani at dewisuryani@biotrop.org.