Agricultural biotechnology for developing countries: results of an electronic forum

This document is a report of the first six conferences of the FAO’s Electronic Forum on Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture, ruuning between March 2000 and May 2001. The first four conferences dealt with the appropriateness of currently available biotechnologies in the crop, forestry, livestock and fishery sectors, respectively for food and agriculture in developing countries. The last two conferences dealt with the implications of agricultural biotechnology for hunger and food security and the impact of intellectual property rights on food and agriculture in developing countries.

Regarding biotechnology in the different sectors (crop, fishery, forestry or livestock), Forum members showed greatest interest in the crop sector. After the crop sector, Forum members seemed to show greatest interest in biotechnologies in the animal sector (especially reproductive technologies and the use of molecular markers) and slightly lower interest in their application to the forestry or fishery sectors. In addition, genetic modification was the single biotechnology that, by far, attracted the greatest interest and discussion and which dominated the crop, fishery and forestry sector conferences.

A wide range of topics concerning the appropriateness, importance and implications of biotechnology for food and agriculture in developing countries was dealt with in the conferences. Some of the major issues that participants raised repeatedly in different conferences were:

• the potential of biotechnology: biotechnology was seen to have considerable potential to address the issues and problems facing food and agriculture in developing countries but was currently only catering for farmers in developed countries and should be re-directed to also consider the specific requirements and problems of small holders in developing countries
• biosafety and the environmental impact of GMOs: there was concern that the release of genetically modified fish or animals or the growing of genetically modified crops or forest trees might have a negative impact on the environment and that the potential risks were greater in developing countries as the application and monitoring of biosafety regulations concerning GMOs would be less rigorous than in developed countries
• impact of intellectual property rights (IPRs): there were concerns about, firstly, biotechnology companies in developed countries patenting genetic resources in developing countries and secondly, the negative impacts of IPR on agricultural biotechnology research, both in developing countries and by public sector institutes. There was also fruitful discussion on strategies to avoid or alleviate the negative impacts of IPR on food and agriculture in developing countries
• domination of agricultural biotechnology by developed countries and the private sector: agricultural biotechnology was seen to be dominated by the private sector in developed countries because development of biotechnology products is generally expensive and may require an extensive IPR portfolio and highly-qualified human resources and that, consequently, a) developing countries might be made to be dependent on developed countries (or on private companies from developed countries); and b) the needs of small, food-insecure farmers in developing countries were being overlooked as these farmers do not represent an important market for the private sector in developed countries
• biotechnology is not a "magic bullet": participants felt that biotechnology alone could not solve the serious problems facing farmers in developing countries and it should only be used when basic management or infrastructural requirements were first in place or well established.

[adapted from author]