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Speaker Abstracts |
| Transferring Research Results and Technologies to End-Users in Kenya: A Case Study From the Tissue Culture Banana Project. |
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Samuel Wakhusama Wanyangu Regional Projects Coordinator, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), ISAAA AfriCentre, C/o CIP, P.O. Box 25171 Nairobi, Kenya, |
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Abstract This project, which in year 2000, won first place medal award on science for technology development from the Global Development Network, was conceived in response to the rapid decline in banana (Musa) production experienced in Kenya over the last two decades brought about by pests, diseases and environmental degradation. The situation threatened food security and income amongst small-scale farmers who make up nearly 80% of the 30 million Kenyans and contribute over 90% of food production. The application of tissue culture (tc) technology to address these constraints was found appropriate to ensure availability of clean planting material and help alleviate the increasing poverty and hunger. To facilitate effective transfer of the technology, ISAAA identified partners of comparative advantage to implement the project by systematically introducing the technology to farmers; establishing public/private sector links; executing technology diffusion studies and developing a sustainable production-distribution-utilisation system. Farmers are now reaping benefits in terms of access to clean planting materials, increased productivity and skills acquisition for technology management. However, constraints to large-scale commercialisation of the technology emerged. These include lack of technology transfer packages, access to credit and marketing. It is now imperative that a sustainable system of horizontal technology transfer through involvement of a broad network of partners with comparative advantage to mobilise large-scale impact be established. |
| Rice Functional Genomics: A Public Research Platform for Gene Discovery and Crop Improvement |
| Hei Leung International Rice Research Institute, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines |
| Abstract IRRI's functional genomics project aims at a) creating genetic resources for functional assignment of rice genes, b) applying candidate genes for enhancing stress tolerance and productivity in rice, and c) disseminating genomic resources and tools to the rice-growing world. With the rice genome completely sequenced, it is now possible to understand the biological function of many genes in totality and their expression under different environments. Given the pivotal role of rice in food supply and genomics research, there is a strong impetus to combine complementary resources and expertise from the public and private sectors to create a research platform that will accelerate gene discovery in rice and allied species.
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| New Technology for Gene Expression in Plants. |
| Guy della-Cioppa Large Scale Biology Corporation, 3333 Vaca Valley Parkway, Suite 1000, Vacaville, CA 095688, USA. |
| Abstract GENEWARE® viral vectors developed at Large Scale Biology Corporation represent a new type of technology for achieving rapid, high-level expression of genes in plants. We have developed vectors based on plus-sense RNA viruses that can be packaged in the laboratory and used for large-scale transfection of a number of preferred host plants in order to produce pharmaceutical proteins and other high-value small molecules. Genomics applications of the technology involve high-throughput determination of unknown gene function based on sense and antisense production in the cytoplasm of uncharacterized RNA species.
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| Agbiotech Role in Economic Development in Developing Countries |
| Usha Barwale-Zehr Mahyco Life Sciences Research Centre, PO Box 76, Jalna 431 203, India |
| Abstract Today, 55% of Indian population is dependent on agriculture for livelihood. Any incremental increase in net agricultural output has a direct impact on the economic development of the country. Recent developments in Agricultural biotechnology provide new options to tackle some of the problems faced by the farming community for long term sustainable agricultural systems around the world. Some of the product available in the market address issues of disease resistance, pest resistance, improved utilization of inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, reduction in pesticide use, are just a few, which provide net gain for the farmer. As one of the tools in the overall agricultural system, ag biotechnology has a critical role to play. The challenges for developing countries are availability of infrastructure, biosafety rule and regulations, investments in research for innovation and for addressing problems, which are of local needs. India is testing many biotechnology products from public and private sector and would make a contribution towards food and nutritional security for India.
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| Towards Global Food Security: What are the Priorities? |
| Gurdev S. Khush International Rice Research Institute MCPO Box 3127, Makati City 1271, Philippines |
| Abstract World population is increasing at the rate of 1.7% per year. Seventy million people are added to world population each year. According to FAO estimates world food requirements will increase by 50% in 2025 from the present level of 2 billion tons to 3 billion tons. This additional food must be produced from less land, with less water, less chemicals and less labor. To meet this challenge we need crop varieties with higher yield potential, more durable resistance to diseases and insects and tolerance to abiotic stresses. We must also improve the management practices such as nutrient, pest, soil and water management. Public policies such as investment in irrigation, marketing infrastructure, supply of credit to subsistence farmers, land reform and improvement of agricultural extension systems, are equally important.
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| Economic role of agriculture in developing country economies |
| Jikun Huang Centre for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Building 917, Datun Road, Anwai, Beijing, China |
| Abstract The evidence from a case study of the efficiency and environmental effects of genetically engineered (GE) cotton on small-holder farmers in China indicate that developing countries could benefit from new breakthroughs in plant biotechnology. However, except for China, South Africa, and Mexico, few developing countries have created, adapted, or extended GE plants to their producers. As a consequence, producers in developing countries are missing the benefits. Our hypothesis is that policy makers in developing countries have not based their decisions on production efficiency or environmental factors, but have weighted heavily concerns with the trade and political aspects of the new technology.
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| Discovering and Developing New Crop Seed and Grain Products |
| Barbara Mazur *Keynote Speaker Dupont Agricultural Products Experiment Station, PO Box 80402, Wilmington, DE 1980-0402 USA. |
| Abstract DuPont's biotechnology programs have focused on improving grain quality and agronomic traits in corn, soybeans, wheat and rice. Products have been developed using mutation breeding and transgenic approaches. Gene discovery for products has been accelerated through a genomics program that includes an extensive database of gene sequences and of gene expression and protein profiles from plants, insects, and microbes. Genetically tagged mutant populations, linked genetic, physical, and EST maps, and association genetics strategies are also employed for gene discovery. High-throughput, rapid, and small-scale assays for biochemical parameters and for functionality are used to identify lines with commercial value, and DNA markers are used to shorten breeding timelines.
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| The Status of Agricultural Biotechnology in Zimbabwe: From Research to Field |
| Idah Sithole-Niang Department of Biochemistry, University of Zimbabwe, PO Box MP 167, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Abstract The potential for biotechnology research in both public and private sectors in Zimbabwe is extremely good. There are activities in both the crop and livestock industry. The basic research is largely conducted at the University of Zimbabwe, in various departments, with some limited activities taking place at the newer institutions. Most of this activity largely employs conventional biotechnology, whereas a few laboratories are also experimenting with genetically engineered organisms (GMOs). Transferring technology from the bench to the farmer has largely been through release of crop varieties developed by conventional breeding. However the most successful/notable biotechnology effort to involve farmers has been through projects funded by the Biotechnology Trust of Zimbabwe (BTZ) and the Netherlands Government, where they employ a needs-driven approach to involve farmers in constraint identification and technology adoption. To-date farmers have benefited from projects ranging from mushroom production, micropropagation of sweetpotato, application of Rhizobial inoculants as well as disease diagnosis in livestock.
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| Towards an Evergreen Revolution in Global Agriculture |
| M S Swaminathan *Keynote speaker UNESCO Cousteau Chair in Ecotechnology & Chairman M S Swaminathan Research Foundation 3rd Cross Street, Taramani Institutional Area Chennai (Madras) 600 113, INDIA |
| Abstract Projections and predictions for foodgrains demand and supply for the year 2020 range between hope and despair. Major reasons for despair are first, the growing imbalance between human numbers and the human capacity to produce food, and second, the continuing damage to the ecological foundations essential for sustainable advances in crop, animal and aquatic productivity. Yield plateaus and a decline in factor productivity are regarded as signs of a "fatigue" in the green revolution of the sixties and seventies. It is also often mentioned that no new technological breakthrough is in the horizon, since there are concerns about the risks associated with genetic modification. Fortunately, progress in genomics, proteomics, agro-climatology, digital technology and other frontier areas of science have opened up uncommon opportunities for fostering an evergreen revolution rooted in the principles of ecology, economics, social and gender equity and employment generation. Most developing countries have no option except to produce more from less per capita arable land and irrigation water resources. This is why there is need for an evergreen revolution based on achieving continuous improvements in productivity without associated social or ecological harm.
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| Recognising and Realising the Potential of Organic Agriculture |
| M S Wolfe Elm Farm Research Centre, Hamstead Marshall, Newbury, Berks RG20 0HR, UK |
| Abstract Organic agriculture operates within closed cycles so as to limit the environmental impact of the food and farming system. However, current production levels are lower than in non-organic agriculture although the difference is offset partly by higher external costs in non-organic agriculture. A major reason for the difference is the impact of greater investment in non-organic R and D. However, current evidence indicates that application of sustainable agriculture research can increase production significantly while reducing environmental impacts throughout the food chain. Further spread of sustainable production needs a major shift in funding for research and development and for its implementation. Go to Full Paper
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| From Research to Markets and Farmers: The Way Ahead in Tropical Agriculture |
| Ana Sittenfeld and Ana M. Espinoza Centro de Investigación en Biología Celular y Molecular, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica. |
| Abstract Good science and technology development is fundamental, but not enough for the successful application of biotechnology in tropical agriculture. The use of biotechnology, including transgenic plants and genomics, as the way ahead in tropical agriculture, requires several considerations, including the realization that a wider range of skills are needed to integrate research, product development, farmers and markets. To run the extra mile, tropical countries face probably more complex issues than the ones related to scientific development: intellectual property rights and freedom to operate, regulatory/risk assessment specifically designed for tropical areas, integration of transgenic plants into sustainable agriculture, better crop management systems directed to alleviate natural resource degradation and improved deployment of the technology to farmers. Today, few products from research have reached markets and farmers in tropical areas, limiting access to benefits such as higher yields and better stress resistance. The way ahead in tropical agriculture depends on moving research products into markets and farmers, the challenge is to find ways and avenues to accelerate the process in a sustainable and intelligent manner.
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| The Population / Biodiversity Paradox. Improving Agricultural Efficiency as a Primary Goal. |
| Anthony Trewavas FRS Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, Mayfield Road, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JH, Scotland |
| Abstract The effects of global warming, a burgeoning human population and threats to biodiversity are engendering much discussion about future agricultural policies. Reasoned considerations suggest that minimising our impact on the planet is our best chance of survival and remaining in balance with the natural world. Such considerations argue for no further encroachment on wilderness, for maintenance of forests and feeding the anticipated extra 2.3 billion people by 2025 by greatly enhanced agricultural efficiency on current farmland only. The response by many governments however has been to slash the publicly funded research necessary to achieve these ends instead relying on industry to take up the slack. However the goal of most industry is the search for profit. Overseas aid might then be better spent on supporting one complete research institute in the UK (an institute for the man-made future) that is completely free of the necessity of industrial support. The goal of such an institute would be to anticipate the necessity for crop redesign world wide, particularly for areas where burgeoning populations are expected to hit hardest. Furthermore anticipation of a series of future possibilities for climate change on agriculture also need research now, not when potential agricultural holocausts are upon us. Genetic manipulation can be expected to be an important contributor amongst these future technologies. The production of crop plasticity in respect to water availability probably the most expensive agricultural commodity by 2050 also needs prioritising now.
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| Agriculture and the Environment |
| Alan Gray Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, CEH Dorset Winfrith Technology Centre, Dorchester, Dorset, DT2 8ZD. UK |
| Abstract The challenge of predicting what agriculture will look like in the overfed developed world in 2020 is made harder by an envisaged growth in non-food farming and the fact that the drivers for change lie in a society increasingly disconnected from food production. But, in the UK and most of Europe agriculture is the environment - our most prized wildlife habitats are anthropogenic and the major threats to the biodiversity of those that remain are neglect and nutrients. Successful restoration of such environments, using ecological principles, bodes well for the creation of a diverse multi-use countryside. The challenge for the developing world is to find ways of reducing the environmental impact of increased intensification.
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| Climate Change, Water And Future Food Supply. |
| Professor Martin Parry Jackson Environment Institute, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK |
| Abstract This presentation will summarise the conclusions emerging from the current international assessment of climate change, and will evaluate their implications for potential world food production, prices and the risk of hunger. Water availability is expected to decrease in most parts of the world and this, combined with increasing demand, is projected to double the number of people faced by water shortage. Yields of the major staples may increase in middle and high latitudes, leading to no major change in production potential at the global level. However, temperature stress and reduced water availability in much of the tropics (especially in the already semi-arid regions) is projected to reduced yield potential here and increase risk of hunger (perhaps by one-fifth). The scale of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions necessary to avoid these effects is very large, and probably not achievable. Adaptation in agriculture will be necessary, especially technology transfer directed toward drought-proofing and coping with temperature stress.
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| New Products - Mammalian Proteins And Pharmaceuticals |
| Julian K-C. Ma, Daniel M. Chargelegue and Pascal W. Drake. Dept. of Oral Medicine and Pathology, Immunology Unit, 28th Floor, Guy's Tower, Guy's Hospital, London SE1 9RT, UK. |
| Abstract The first plant expressed antibody, a full length IgG, was described in 1989. Since then, virtually all forms of engineered antibody fragments have been expressed successfully in plants from dAbs and scFvs to multimeric IgG and secretory IgA antibodies. In most cases, expression levels have been high, with accumulation levels amounting to 1-8% of total soluble plant protein. In contrast, the general experience with other recombinant proteins has been disappointing, with many antigens expressed at levels below 0.1% TSP. The key advantages of plants over other heterologous expression systems are that they are higher eukaryotic organisms with an endomembrane system, they fold and assemble recombinant proteins using protein chaperones that are homologous to those in mammalian cells, and they glycosylate proteins. An understanding of how to manipulate these mechanisms will be required to exploit the full potential of the transgenic plant expression system for pharmaceutical production.
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| Nutritional Genomics: An Approach For Dissecting Plant Biochemical Pathways of Nutritional Importance to Humans. The Vitamin E Pathway as an Example. |
| Dean DellaPenna
Department of Biochemistry, room 215. Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan, USA 48824. |
| Abstract Nutritional Genomics is one approach to gene discovery that is most applicable to plant compounds of nutritional importance that are also produced by other organisms (e.g. vitamins). The approach utilizes databases and protein/DNA homologies to move experimentally between organisms while remaining focused on one's pathway of interest. In this way specific attributes of other systems that may be lacking in the target organism can be utilized (e.g. sequenced genomes, operons and targeted gene disruptions). We have applied this approach to study and manipulate Vitamin E synthesis in plants. Genomics is accelerating dissection of plant biochemical pathways and the potential to manipulate plant metabolism and improve the nutritional status of humans heralds an exciting new era for plant biologists.
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