I am pleased to announce the upcoming International Conference on Agriculture and Environment “Producing biomass and economic growth while caring for our environment: A shared vision for the future”

This is a Ministerial Conference and Regulation Workshop on Biosafety for Central America and Dominican Republic At Zamorano University, Honduras, May 9–12, 2012.

You can find a more detailed description and agenda here International Conference Agriculture and Environment Zamorano University May 2012

The description of the group is as follows:

“A collection of research outputs assembled by Jose Falck-Zepeda, Guillaume Gruere, Patricia Zambrano, Debdatta Sengupta and colleagues and partners at IFPRI and the Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS) on the socio-economic assessments of genetically modified organisms in developing and developed countries and other relevant knowledge tools and literature.”

Mendeley is a excellent tool to manage references and literature collections. The tool itself can be used to pick up references online and to manage collections, as well as provide some reference editing services to generate reference lists. Later is similar to Reference Manager.

We will later connect bECON, our collection of literature on the economic impact of genetically modified crops, already available in Mendeley to this group. Hopefully this will be a nice tool for the use of researchers, regulators, policy and decision makers.

In the previous meeting (COP-MOP5 in Nagoya Japan) the issue of socioeconomics was discussed peripherally as part of the event. The consensus at the time, was that the Parties did not have enough information for a substantive discussion, and thus it would be premature any debate at that point. With this outcome, the parties to the Cartagena Protocol decided to support expert consultations and regional discussions on the issue of socioeconomic consideration.

Paragraph 25 of decision BS-V/3 in COP-MOP5 requested the Executive Secretary of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) to convene a regionally-balanced workshop on capacity-building for information exchange on socio-economic impacts. The Workshop held in India on October 2011 page is located here.

Two important documents arising from the India workshop, online consultations hosted by the CBD Secretariat and other activities are
Synthesis of information and capacity building and socioeconomics and the Synthesis of views on next steps on socio-economics

It is critically important for experts, decision makers, regulators, and other stakeholders, to carefully read these two documents, and the contents of the online discussions hosted by the CBD.

Jose Falck Zepeda

Announcement
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) will organize an important meeting to present and discuss the findings and recommendations of a study commissioned by AfDB on agriculture biotechnology for Africa from 15-16 February 2012 in Nairobi, Kenya.

The economic and social significance of Africa’s agriculture sector is widely acknowledged. However, due to a variety of reasons, the sector has not been performing well, and this, among other things, is affecting food security, inclusive growth and poverty reduction. The urgent need to transform Africa’s agriculture sector into a competitive and high potential driver of balanced economic development using advanced technology has been extensively debated.

To this end, in June 2011, the AfDB Group commissioned IFPRI to conduct a comprehensive and evidence-based study on agriculture biotechnology in Africa to assist African countries to address their agriculture and food security problems. The consultation meeting will discuss the findings and recommendations of the study for broad stakeholder validation, prioritize key areas which need to be addressed, and identify and agree on roles, responsibilities and resources needed to implement priority actions. Some of the main recommendations from the study include the need to enhance support for the following: data collection, capacity building; renewed cooperation on biotechnology with sub-Saharan African countries, and outreach and communication to the public at large. In this regard, the report is an important step in the right direction.

Approximately 80 representatives of development organizations, senior African policy makers, private sector officials, scientists, researchers, and farmers organizations will participate in the meeting.

FOr more information Click here

The Program for Biosafety System (PBS) supports partner countries in Africa and Asia in the responsible development and use of biotechnology. Managed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), PBS works with countries interested in using biotechnology to enhance agricultural innovation.

In many developing countries, economic growth and sustainability depend on the strong performance of the agricultural sector. The tools of biotechnology, when combined with the science of breeding, have created improved varieties that deliver increased value globally. Today, smallholder farmers in more than 15 countries successfully grow crop varieties developed through biotechnology.

Other countries, however, have not integrated biotechnology into their agricultural systems. Often, this hesitancy is due to a lack of a rational and predictable biosafety framework that facilitates access to products and varieties produced using biotechnology.

Our independent and diverse team of experts supports the development of effective biosafety systems through an integrated package of assistance, including:

Sustained, on-the-ground support
A practical, product-focused approach
Science-based regulatory services
Independent policy research by IFPRI that informs decisionmakers
Unique methods to design stakeholder outreach and communication strategies
Legal analysis and advice

To learn more about the Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS) please click here

I have contributed a chapter along with my colleague Patricia Zambrano on the economics of biotechnology.

This book compiles many of the presentations and experiences of those resources persons, like me, who have actively participated in the Michigan State University sponsored summer course on Environmental Biosafety Short Course (for the 2012 version of MSU Short Course click here

You can see the book in here: Environmental Biosafety Of Genetically Engineered Crops 

The Workshop co-organized by the Public Research Regulation Initiative (PRRI), International Food Policy Research Institute/Program for Biosafety Systems (IFPRI/PBS)and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) will be held on January 10 and 11, 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand.

It aims to discuss topics related to: 1. Rio +20: the contribution of modern biotechnology to strengthen sustainable agricultural production of food, feed, fiber and fuel; 2. CPB-MOP5: implementation of the outcome of the topics negotiated at MOP5, such as the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur supplementary protocol on Liability and Redress; c. CPB-MOP6: Risk assessment, Socio-economic considerations, Capacity building; 4. CBD-COP 11: relationship to CPB, and possibly topics as Access Benefit Sharing/genetic resources; and 5. CSD-210: progress of the activities agreed in Chapter 16 of Agenda 21 of the CPB.

Around 70 participants from Asia will be attending the workshop where lectures and discussions will be provided by noted international experts such as Piet Van den Meer of PRRI, Paul S. Teng of NIE/GMAC/ISAAA, Dominic Muyldermans of CLI, Kazuo Watanabe of University of Tsukuba, and Jose Falck Zepeda of IFPRI. The participants are also expected to discuss interrelations in the above-mentioned topics and to develop outcomes that can be implemented and adapted in the represented countries.

For more information you can visit the ISAAA site

The Workshop co-organized by the Public Research Regulation Initiative (PRRI), International Food Policy Research Institute/Program for Biosafety Systems (IFPRI/PBS)and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) will be held on January 10 and 11, 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand.

It aims to discuss topics related to: 1. Rio +20: the contribution of modern biotechnology to strengthen sustainable agricultural production of food, feed, fiber and fuel; 2. CPB-MOP5: implementation of the outcome of the topics negotiated at MOP5, such as the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur supplementary protocol on Liability and Redress; c. CPB-MOP6: Risk assessment, Socio-economic considerations, Capacity building; 4. CBD-COP 11: relationship to CPB, and possibly topics as Access Benefit Sharing/genetic resources; and 5. CSD-210: progress of the activities agreed in Chapter 16 of Agenda 21 of the CPB.

Around 70 participants from Asia will be attending the workshop where lectures and discussions will be provided by noted international experts such as Piet Van den Meer of PRRI, Paul S. Teng of NIE/GMAC/ISAAA, Dominic Muyldermans of CLI, Kazuo Watanabe of University of Tsukuba, and Jose Falck Zepeda of IFPRI. The participants are also expected to discuss interrelations in the above-mentioned topics and to develop outcomes that can be implemented and adapted in the represented countries.

For more information you can visit the ISAAA site