Objectives
- Highlight past achievements, recent advancements and future trends in biotechnologies and their transformative potential for achieving efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.
- Explore how biotechnologies, including low-tech tools and advanced innovations, such as genome editing and synthetic biology, can empower small-scale producers, processors, traders and retailors to enhance food security, improve nutrition, and build resilience to climate challenges.
- Share good practices in integrating digital technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence and bioinformatics, to advance research, improve access, and scale biotechnological innovations.
- Discuss the experience in development of policies and legislation to ensure the safe, equitable, and responsible application of biotechnologies, addressing risks and building public trust.
- Foster global collaboration by connecting policymakers, scientists, civil society organizations, private sector, and other relevant stakeholders to drive inclusive biotechnological solutions, ensuring no one is left behind in the transformation of agrifood systems.
"Biotechnology is not a substitute for traditional knowledge, but instead it is a valuable complement. It must be accessible to those on the front lines of agrifood systems: farmers, rural communities, and stewards of the environment. Responsible governance, appropriate regulatory frameworks, public trust, and cross-sector collaboration are essential to ensure that no one is left behind in this era of rapid transformation." QU Dongyu FAO Director-General
Extracts of the programme
16/06 Opening plenary session
The panel highlighted some of the recent advancements such as synthetic biology, microbial metabolic engineering, molecular data science, analytics, computational methods including Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to development and application of biotechnological solutions.
FAO Webcast
FAO Webcast
- Welcome and opening Address, Dr QU Dongyu, Director-General, FAO
- Vincent Martin, moderator
- Science-based approaches to support food security, better nutrition and food safety in the context of transforming agrifood systems - Mr. Carlos Goulart, Secretary of Animal and Plant Health at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Brazil
- Biotechnologies as catalysts for agrifood systems transformation and its role in achieving multiple SDGs - Mr Víctor Manuel Villalobos Arámbula, Former Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mexico
- Role of National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in development and application of Biotechnologies - Mr Sanwen Huang, President, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS), Hainan, China
- Application of biotechnologies for smallholders - Mr Papa Abdoulaye Seck, Former Director General, Africa Rice Center and Former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Senegal
- Taking stock of the past achievements, status and recent breakthroughs in biotechnological research and development - Ms Louise Fresco Professor & Former President, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands: She stressed the promises of biotechnology 1.0 and biotehnology 2.0
FAO Webcast
- Looking at the future: International cooperation and partnerships for promoting biotechnologies for efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems - Ms Jelena Begovic, Chair, Board of Governors, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy and Former Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation, Government of Serbia.
- Application of synthetic biology and microbial metabolic engineering for food security and nutrition - Ms Claudia Vickers, Professor, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
- Molecular data science - Analytics and computational methods, including AI, applied to genome, protein sequence, and small molecule data - Mr Justin Gerke, Sr. Data Science Manager, Corteva Agriscience, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Exploring the Future of biotechnologies: Integrating foresight across UN and Beyond - Mr Chris Earney, Head UN Futures Lab/Global Hub, UN Futures Lab/Global Hub Executive Office of the Secretary General at the Unities Nations, New York, USA
- Biotechnologies at work for smallholder farmers: Lessons of the past, challenges and opportunities of the future - Mr Ajay Vir Jakhar, Chairman, Bharat Krishak Samaj, Indian Farmers Forum, New Delhi, India: Phylantropic organizations should not influence policy
- Role of private sector in promoting biotechnological solutions: Increasing investments and engagements - Mr Michael Keller, Secretary General, International Seeds Federation, Nyon, Switzerland
+ 22:35:50 Intervention from Ms Louise Fresco
16/06 FAO/IAEA Joint centre and the Biotechnologies abstract winners
Atrium side event: Extract: Evaluation of transgenic cowpea with combined resistance to the Legume pod borer and cowpea weevil - Mr Jerry Nboyine, Principal Research Scientist (Entomologist) at CSIR - Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, Tamale. Ghana
16/06 Biotechnological innovations and sustainability frontiers
The session focused on some recent and specific biotechnological innovations including gene editing, synthetic biology, DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, cell based products and its wide range of novel solutions for resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.
FAO Webcast
FAO Webcast
- Biotechnologies to the most vulnerable communities: Participatory action research with indigenous peoples and peasant communities, and advice on public policies and programs - Ms Georgina Catacora-Vargas, Member of the IPES-Food panel, and professor at the Academic Peasant Unit ‘Tiawanacu’ of the Bolivian Catholic University, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
- Revolutionary gene editing technology for affordable and accessible solutions in agrifood systems - Mr Brad Ringeisen, Executive Director, Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI), Berkeley, California, USA (On-line)
- Application of the latest DNA sequencing technologies and bioinformatics methods to advance scientific understanding of crop genetics and interaction with their environment - Mr Mario Caccamo, Chief Executive Officer and Director, National Institute of Agricultural Botany, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Biotechnological and food innovation – How plant and cell- based products will transform our agrifood systems? - Mr Bruce Friedrich, President and Founder, The Good Food Institute, Washington, D.C., USA
- Molecular biological research for development of stress tolerance and resilient crops - Mr. Yasunari Fujita, Food Program, Program Director, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS), Japan
- Role of structural and functional changes in the genome, diversity and population’s structure - adaptation to natural environmental variations or human-induced changes - Mr Yves Vigouroux, Director, DIADE Research Unit (Diversity - Adaptation - Plant Development), Institute of Research for Development (IRD), Montpellier, France
- Delivering the benefits of biotechnology tools to farmers: Facilitating the transfer of appropriate biotechnology applications to farmers - Ms Margaret Karembu, Director, International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotech Applications (ISAAA), Africa Center, Nairobi, Kenya (On-line)
16/06 Genetic improvement for sustainable crop production systems
The presentation focused on topics such as next generation genomics, molecular breeding, gene editing and synthetic biology for sustainable crop production systems.
16/06 Biotechnological Innovations in livestock management
The session provided a platform for interactive dialogue on the latest biotechnological applications in animal breeding, conservation of genetic diversity, improvement of feed efficiency and product quality, and the development of next-generation vaccines.
16/06 Youth and women in Biotech: Innovating for Tomorrow
FAO Webcast 45 applications were received and 6 were selected for presentation
+ 2:05:00 Intervention from Ms Louise Fresco: "South - South collaboration is really important" "Vasilov vs Lisenko in Russia: we are go to be evidence driven" "Only a fully rounded individual can bë a good scientist
17/06 Innovation Pathways for development and localization of biotechnologies
The session highlighted some practical examples from the United States and China on product development, localization and commercialization, and safe and appropriate use of technologies to help meet agricultural challenges and consumer needs.
- Role of Agricultural education and extension to promote development and localization of biotechnologies: Pathways for promoting biotechnologies in South Africa - Ms Lerato Bame Tsalaemang Matsaunyane, Research Team Manager: Farmer Support, Commercialisation and Enterprise Development, Agricultural Research Council – Vegetable, Industrial and Medicinal Plants (VIMP), Pretoria, South Africa (On-line)
17/06 Biotechnologies in managing forest genetic resources
- Biotechnologies to enhance the conservation and use of African tree germplasm - Ms Alice Muchugi (Theme Leader, Tree Genetic Resources and Biodiversity, World Agroforestry, Kenya)
17/06 Fish breeding, diagnostic tools and vaccines for aquatic animals
Brief overview of the main areas where biotechnologies are currently been applied in the fisheries and aquaculture.
17/06 Biotechnological applications for improving nutrition and food quality
- Applying genomics to enhance the use of nutritionally important underutilized crops and trees species: African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC) Initiative - Ms Alice Muchugi, Theme Leader, Tree Genetic Resources and Biodiversity, CIFOR-ICRAF, Nairobi, Kenya
17/06 Biotechnology applications in a sustainable bioeconomy
This session discussed the current issues of sustainability assessments and barriers to adoption of biotechnologies.
FAO Webcast
- Platforms to enable knowledge transfer and bioeconomy development - Mr. Julius Ecuru, Manager, BioInnovate Africa at ICIPE - International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Kenya
17/06 Collaborative approaches for ensuring safety of biotechnological applications in food
- Case 2: Importance of information sharing under the Convention of Biological Diversity: Biosafety Clearing House (BCH) - Ms Wadzanayi Mandivenyi, Biosafety Clearing House Manager, Biosafety Unit, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Canada
17/06 Climate-Resilient Future: Adapting to biotic and abiotic stresses through biotechnologies
This session highlighted accessible and affordable biotechnological innovations for climate change adaptation, and discuss specificity of some regional initiatives, and opportunities of plant microbiomes research and the development of microbial pro- and pre-biotic products for a more sustainable agriculture.
- Biotechnologies for adapting to climate change: Improving resilience of smallholders in Africa - Mr Sylvester Oikeh Manager Biotech Maize seed system AATF, Nairobi, Kenya (On-line)
- Developing next-generation plant breeding technologies to accelerate the creation of resilient and diverse crops, particularly in response to climate change - Ms Ying Shao, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Plantik Biosciences, Paris, France
17/06 Private sector in development, uptake and scaling of biotech solutions
The session highlighted some selected cases from Sweden, Switzerland, Nigeria, USA and Canada. The discussions focused on application of biotechnologies in livestock herd health management, plant breeding, high-quality and high yielding varieties of seeds and scaling efforts.
- Development of Nigeria’s seed sector by improving access to high-quality, high-yielding varieties for smallholder farmers and promoting agronomic practices that support food security and rural livelihoods - Mr Moses Igyuve, Value Seeds Ltd, Nigeria
18/06 Scaling Innovations in Biotech: From research to context specific adoption by rural communities
Examples covered economically important tropical crops, recent developments in biological nitrogen inhibition (BNI) and converting waste into biofertilizers.
- Facilitating transition of biotechnologies from the research to adoption enabled through Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) roadmap in South Africa - Ms Maneshree Jugmohan-Naidu, Director: Agricultural Biotechnology, Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, Pretoria, South Africa
- Scaling biotech products and response under real-world farmers’ conditions - Mr David Spielman, Director, Innovation Policy & Scaling Unit, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC, USA
- Transforming agricultural waste into bio-fertilizer and outreach to rural women farmers in Uganda - Ms Elizabeth Kabakoyo, Founder, Glowish Agro Solutions, Uganda (On-line)
18/06 Policies in Biotechnology: Ensuring innovation and equity, balancing regulatory frameworks
This session highlighted the policies for equitable access and responsible application of biotechnologies by addressing consumer concerns and ensuring integration of ethical considerations.
- Policy and regulatory affairs for biotechnologies: Experiences from Africa - Mr Francis Nangayo, Senior Manager and Head, Regulatory and Policies, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Nairobi, Kenya.
- Policies and regulations of agricultural biotechnologies in Malawi – stakeholder relations and communications - Ms Lilian Chimphepo, Chief Environmental Officer (Biosafety Registrar), Environmental Affairs Department, Malawi
- Policy enablers for regulating agricultural biotechnologies in Africa - Mr Samuel Timpo, Principal Programme Officer – Biosafety, Johannesburg, South Africa
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