Global knowledge center on biotech established

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – A Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology (GKC) has been established.

Set up by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), the GKC aims to provide current and authoritative information on biotechnology for the benefit of developing countries.

The center is an offshoot of a study tour to Europe and North America in 1999 participated in by six policymakers from Southeast Asia.

After the tour, the participants concluded that the dearth of readily available and authoritative information about crop biotechnology, particularly genetically modified (GM) crops, was the single most important constraint hindering decision-making regarding GM crops in developing countries where biotechnology can potentially make the most impact on agriculture.

Thus, the group unanimously recommended that ISAAA establish the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology.

(ISAAA, organized in 1991, is a not-for-profit international entity co-sponsored by public and private sector institutions. It aims to facilitate the acquisition and transfer of agricultural biotechnology applications from the industrial nations, particularly proprietary technology from the private sector, to developing countries for their benefit. ISAAA’s mission is to contribute to poverty alleviation by increasing crop productivity and income generation, particularly for resource-poor farmers, and to bring about a safer environment and more sustainable agricultural development.)

In addition to the GKC central node that is located at the ISAAA Southeast Asia Center in Los Baños, three fully operational national and regional nodes have been established in Asia.

These are the Philippine Biotechnology Information Center (BIC) hosted by the Los Baños-based SEAMEO Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA); the Thailand Biotechnology Information Center based at Kasetsart University (KU) in Bangkok, Thailand; and the Malaysia Agricultural Biotechnology Information Center (MABIC) hosted by a nongovernment organization, T-FANFARE, based in Kuching, Sarawak.

Additional national nodes operated by network members in Asia, Africa, and Latin America are also being established, reported the ISAAA-SEA Center headed by Director Randy Hautea.

Dr. Mariechel Jamias-Navarro of the ISAAA-SEA Center also told The STAR that the global network will serve at least 20 strategically located national nodes in the three major continents.

To date, agreements are in place for 14 nodes (China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica — 2, Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa).

"The KC and BICs hold workershops/seminars on biotechnology for various audiences," Dr. Navarro said. These include those for scientists, government agencies, nongovernment organizations, media, and secondary school students.

She added that the KC publishes and distributes for free materials such as institutional briefing materials, popularized semi-technical leaflets, and information backgrounders for various audiences.

Pocket K (Knowledge) leaflets on frequently asked questions (FAQ) and answers on GM crops, as well as issues on crop biotechnology, have been translated into Filipino, Bahasa Indonesia, Hindi, Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, French, and Afrikaans. Issues discussed are crop biotechnology products, food safety, GM and the environment, and benefits of GM crops.

A website CropBiotech Net (http://www.isaaa.org/kc) has also been set up. It won the Golden Web Award 2001-2002 given by the International Association of Web Masters and Designers.

A weekly electronic summary of global news with implications for developing countries is also available for those with access to e-mail. In addition, a monthly Crop Biotech Brief, a summary of a theme or topic on crop biotechnology, accompanies the news.

"Those interested can become part of the e-mail group service by going to the KC site (http://www.isaaa.org/kc) and registering for free," Dr. Navarro said.