Gordon Conway

The Rockefeller Foundation, USA

Biotechnology and Poor People: The Way Forward

Recent and continuing advances in the life sciences offer exciting opportunities to improve the lives and livelihoods of poor people throughout the world. Most of the world's people, 5.1 billion, live in the developing countries, with 3 billion living in rural areas where they are largely dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. Roughly 1.2 billion live in poverty, consuming less than US $1 per day.

We know from past experience that science and technology used appropriately and delivered equitably can greatly benefit many of these people. Smallpox and other disease eradication programs have prevented sickness and saved the lives of millions. The Green Revolution has helped hundreds of millions to be better nourished and to earn more income.

The new sciences promise further and perhaps even greater benefits. Unfortunately, however, many of these potential benefits may not be realized, or if they are, may not be accessible to the people in greatest need. In the world's market economy, the profit objective of the private sector directs research agendas toward the needs and desires of those who can pay. Most of our brightest scientists are working in sophisticated laboratories in industrial countries and have little or no knowledge of the needs of the poor living in rural areas, a continent away. And, the global rules governing ownership of the new sciences are being formulated in and by wealthy countries, in part to protect their own competitive advantages in international trade.

If the new sciences are to benefit the poor, the way forward will require a new set of priorities. We need more of our best scientists working in well-equipped laboratories and field facilities in developing countries, where they can interact with, learn from, and address the needs of poor people. The private sector needs to be willing to share more of its technology and to enter into public-private partnerships that allow profits to be made, while simultaneously strengthening the public sector's ability to meet the needs of those who cannot pay. And, the rules governing the ownership of science need to be fairer, more transparent, and more accommodating to the traditions and values of all societies.

This presentation will discuss some of the strategies being pursued to address these issues and promising applications of the new sciences currently underway in developing countries.

Jean Daussat

MURS Fondation & Jean Dausset-Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH), France

One will endeavour to define the principles and the practical criteria which can make it possible to judge if a novel biological technique is acceptable to mankind or not. On this purpose it seems judicious to rest on the principles which correspond to the lessons of the majority of the philosophies and of the major religions of the world which reflect the better part of the human soul. The first principle is " to struggle again the millenary suffering of the human condition; to bring relief, even partial to these pains". The second principle is "to reach this goal while respecting the dignity of the human body, its integrity and inviolability since its conception". These principles seem to be in conformity with universal ethics based primarily on compassion: a feeling more widespread that one thinks. Among the criteria which appear to be retained the most important is of course that " the benefit awaited exceed clearly the risk incurred". The second one is that " any mercantile motivation must be involved or taken into account". In case of doubt, the interest of the child must pass before that of the mother or, in general, of parents. And more importantly the decisions should not hurt inward convictions, even irrational but infinitely respectable of the majority of citizens. In these options, various stages of life should be considered: the embryo, and its cloning (reproductive or therapeutic), in childhood, and adulthood (the somatic or germinal transgenesis), and longevity, and end of life.

Magdy A. Madkour

The Agricultural Research Center (ARC) and Supervisor, The Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI) ARC-GIZA-EGYPT

BIOTECHNOLOGY AND ITS APPLICATION IN AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTION; THE EGYPTIAN EXPERIENCE:

The Egyptian agricultural sector is in the process of major change. The government of Egypt is moving towards privatization. Transfer of technology to the private sector has occurred in the case of in vitro micropropagation of virus free potato technology. This shows the capacity and interest of the private sector to adopt new technology; this aspect of technology transfer is expected to grow dramatically in the current phase as the research program of AGERI becomes more product-oriented.

Developing country institutions may be interested in working with private companies to gain access to important technology, develop managerial and business expertise, build intellectual capacity , or form a partnership with an entity that has an existing capability of bringing a product to market.

The relationship between AGERI, an Egyptian public sector institution, and Pioneer, a US private company was forged through a relationship that involved common business interests. The importance of co- development of technology as opposed to technology transfer is especially pertinent in the case of Pioneer's relationship with AGERI, in this collaboration, a public-sector institution was able to bring a significant contribution to the table. AGERI has isolated a number of strains of Bacillus thuringiensis that had pesticidal activity of interests to a private-sector company.

AGERI has also a state-of-the-art biosafety facility and a cadre of trained scientists. Finally, AGERI could provide access to the local Egyptian market and the broader Middle East market, both of which were sufficiently developed to be attractive. In turn, Pioneer came to the table with technology as well as with marketing, regulatory and legal expertise of value to AGERI.

A second model of moving research into commercial application in elaborated through the successful interaction between Scientists at AGERI and the University of Wyoming who have been involved in collaborative research studies for the past eight years on Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The research efforts led to the development of a biological pesticide based on a highly potent strain of Bt isolated in the Nile Delta. This strain is extremely effective against a broad range of insects represented by the orders Lepidoptera (moths) Coleoptera (beetles) and Diptera (mosquitoes) as well. An additional significant feature of this strain is its capacity to kill nematodes.

In order to fulfill its commitment to bring research results into application and large scale commercial distribution to the targeted end users, namely the farmers, AGERI established a commercial business entity under the name "BIOGRO", This company would be responsible for the commercialization of research results conducted in AGERI and will be in a position to sell products of AGERI. This is essential to guarantee that sales revenue will be pumped back to the institute to support the constitution of its activities.

It is envisaged that BIOGRO would link with The Genetic Engineering Services Unit (GESU) which was established earlier at AGERI to work out any commercial agreements to benefit both the institute and BIOGRO, It will also allow for a free flow of information and products related to genetic engineering being produced by the institute for commercialization purposes.

Biotechnology: The Next Wave of Innovation Technologies for Sustainable Development

Donald Johnston

OECD, France

Biotechnology has the potential to spread across a broad range of sectors and deliver more sustainable approaches to food production and security, industrial production and processing, and economic development more generally. A move to a more "bio-based" economy could create opportunities to narrow the economic divide between North and South and de-couple economic development from the environmental degradation that plagued the last century. New generation sustainable innovations in biotechnology offer must greater potential than has been delivered so far to address the needs of the South. But to realise this potential, new partnerships will be required to address the right questions in the right circumstances in order to deliver products appropriate to needs.

Public policies need to be developed that address local needs but that are set in the global context. Local decisions will need to be taken about how to reposition sustainable production with industrial and agricultural life as biological materials potentially provide more renewable resources and feedstocks for industrial manufacturing and energy production. Responses will be different in different settings, but biotechnology can only help us deliver on a more sustainable future if we engage in open and inclusive dialogue with civil society, with scientists and industry and between North and South.

The Arid Lands Experience: Crop Improvement

for the Dry Areas

Adel El-Beltagy

International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), Syria
Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses limiting productivity of field crops in arid environments. Growing drought tolerant crop cultivars is one of the most economical ways of achieving high and stable productivity in such areas. However, breeding drought tolerant varieties is complex not only because drought is highly unpredictable in terms of severity and timing but also because of its interaction with other stresses. ICARDA follows both traditional and biotechnological approaches in breeding cultivars adapted to arid environments. The conventional approach involves two principal methodologies: (a) direct selection for performance, mainly yield, in the target environments, and (b) indirect selection using morphological, physiological, and other traits related to improved yield performance under dry conditions.

Two biotechnological approaches are being tested to improve abiotic stress tolerance in crop plants. The first one is the use of quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis to identify breeding material with superior water-use efficiency and adaptation to arid conditions. Through genetic-linkage mapping, the analysis reveals the location of loci associated with performance under drought conditions. This is then amenable to marker-assisted selection using DNA markers flanking the identified QTLs. The second approach relies on genetic transformation of crop plants using genes known to be involved in expression of drought tolerance. For the identification of such genes, methods are employed correlating metabolic responses with gene expression in the breeding material under stress. The genes so identified will be incorporated into breeding lines with other improved agronomic traits.

Examples of achievements of conventional and molecular breeding are presented, and new approaches to stress tolerance breeding are discussed.

The International Experience: Livestock

Disease and Genomics

Vishvanath Nene

The Institute for Genomic Research, USA
New Development in the Control of Tropical Diseases:

Livestock and their products play an important role in the lives and livelihoods of people in many developing countries as they directly contribute to food and economic security. In order to encourage a shift from subsistence to more market-orientated farming it is necessary to improve livestock productivity and higher levels of farm produce become critical if the anticipated increased demand in milk and meat over the next two decades are to be met. The major factors that constrain livestock productivity include inadequate nutrition, animal genetic potential and losses due to disease.

Advances in the fields of immunology and biotechnology and the growing disciplines of genomics and bioinformatics have resulted in several high-through put platform technologies that are being applied to develop novel methods of disease control. The "mining" of pathogen genome sequence information with computer-based tools has resulted in a paradigm shift in the ability to identify candidate vaccine antigens and novel drug targets for chemotherapeutics. Such developments herald a new era in our ability to tackle infectious diseases.

Some of the new technologies are being used against East Coast fever, a lethal disease of cattle in sub-Saharan Africa that results in high levels of mortality and morbidity. The disease is a major impediment to the improvement of the cattle industry and is estimated to result in losses of ~ $200 million a year. ECF is caused by a tick-borne intra-cellular protozoan parasite called Theileria parva and a project to sequence the genome of this organism is close to completion. This data will form the backbone of research in developing novel vaccines for the control of ECF as in the long term this offers a cost effective and sustainable solution to the devastating effects of this disease.

Biotechnology: The Role of the Private Sector

Klaus M. Leisinger

Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development, Switzerland

Modern societies are highly complex organizations which are based to a large degree on division of labour. No one in a society is responsible for everything, no one has sweeping rights and no one is beholden for all the duties of society. Different actors of the civil society have different concepts, skills, techniques, experiences and different resources. They are also driven by different motives.

Although there is a rational and natural division of labor and responsibility, synergies through the cooperation of different actors are not only feasible but necessary. As a result of its different background and experience different actors are likely to analyze the issues and appraise the problems as well as opportunities differently. Modified or altogether different solutions become probably under such circumstances.

Technology will be a key variable for sustainable human development of the next decades - this makes the transfer of technology an issue of special importance. In this context the research and development strength of the private sector gives rise to concern among development stakeholders: As technologies needed to develop and apply are overwhelmingly in the intellectual property domain of a small number of life science corporations in the North, patented results are in all likelihood too expensive for resource-poor people in less developed countries.

If all the players in civil society - politicians, entrepreneurs, researchers, and others - assume their specific responsibilities as local and global citizens with the highest possible standards, and if all institutional players in civil society - be they political parties, corporations, NGOs or others - cooperate in a constructive manner, the synergism created is likely to allow for a bright economic, and therefore social, and therefore political future.

Given the range of opportunities and the potential win-win-situations in public-private cooperation, such partnership is no longer just one political or societal options. It is a necessity for cost-effective sustainable development - and at the same time a corporate investment in social acceptance.

The State of the Art in Plant Biotechnology

Marc Van Montagu

The VIB Department of Plant Genetics, University of Gent, Belgium

From Molecular Genetics to Plants for the Future:

The technologies and tools of what is now called genomics, proteomics and metabolomics bring challenging opportunities to the plant sciences. How to organise that this progress in fundamental research generates knowledge that boosts success fully applied research and results in a tropical agriculture with improved value.

The wealth of data generated by the genome programs brings confidence that it soon will be possible to understand the molecular base of trait variations observed in the different accessions of our seed banks. However very much more fundamental research will be needed before we will know and be able to intervene in the regulation of gene expression.

We are learning the complexity of the transcription machinery, the importance of epigenetic changes characteristic of the life history of the plant, the intricate signalling pathways that bring the right metabolic responses upon challenges by biotic and abiotic stresses and the developmental adaptations.

With this knowledge, we will have to produce crop plants for a low input agriculture. Bring value to agriculture by developing plants to be used by the processing industry. Plants as a source for producing fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

To achieve these ambitious goals we will have to develop a network of institutes that can use the molecular technology of the developed countries to construct in the developing countries the improved crop so badly needed.

The establishment of start-up companies and of a dynamic and strong seed industry will be of the greatest importance.

We will have to improve science education worldwide and explain to the society the importance of science in decision-making.

Scientist will also have to be engaged in a dialogue with the public at large and particularly with the consumer organisations and NGO's. They have to explain the consequences of not using GM plants.

Emerging Issues for International

Agricultural Research

Rudy Rabbinge

Land Resources & Water Resources, Wageningen, UR: Crop & Weed Ecology Group, The Netherlands
In the 20th century the successes of agriculture and agricultural research were very impressive. Three green revolutions, discontinuities in productivity increase occurred during that century. Contributions of different disciplines such as breeding, plant nutrition and soil fertility, water management and irrigation, agricultural engineering and crop protection lead to synergism. Implementation of new insights and technologies and very wide adoption by farmers resulted in unprecedented yield increases per hectare. The first green revolution took place at the beginning of the 20th century in North America and Western Europe and was followed by a second green revolution just after World War II in the industrialized parts of the world. It took another two decades before the third green revolution occurred in Asia. Agricultural research strengthened by the funding by Rockefeller and Ford Foundations produced new varieties with higher harvest indices and soil fertility, water management and crop protection were considerably improved so that yield increases changed from 1-4 kg grain equivalents per ha per year to 80-100 kg grain equivalents per ha per year.

Those accelerated yield increases per ha per year took place in the major grain producing areas of Asia in the early seventies and prevented enormous famines in Asia in the seventies and eighties. The need to produce more food for an increasing world population that changes diets to richer animal proteins is still required.

At the same time the need to manage natural resources in such a way that less losses occur and factor productivity increases is more and more accepted.

The possibilities to extend agricultural land are limited and in general undesirable unacceptable, therefore more production with the present land is needed. That requires innovations at the individual field level but even more so on the higher aggregate levels. Water management and land use improvement require innovations on watershed or ecoregional levels. In the early decades of the twenty-first century, therefore several issues of international agricultural research emerge:

1. The possibilities to increase yield potentials by new traits in advanced varieties. The present varieties have exactly the same physiological traits as the older varieties, so that yield potential is more or less the same.

2. The way natural resources are used should be improved, more crop per drop, but also more kg product per kg input.

3. Control of yield defining, yield limiting and yield reducing factors in a harmonious and balanced way to reduce environmental side effects.

4. Aggregation, disaggregation, upscaling and downscaling from field via cropping system and farmlevel to ecoregional level and vis à vis.

5. Spatio-temporal heterogeneity can be used as an asset rather than a liability by precision agriculture.

6. Production ecological principles should be further developed and implemented at all scale levels and integrated with socio-economic studies.

Agricultural research and dearly needed advances in agriculture can be jeopardized by unjustified bans on particular innovations and instruments. Fertilizers, pesticides and gmo's are in some places banned. That is unwise as sophisticated and appropriate use enables the wanted innovations. Modern agriculture has profited from the age of enlightenment, that should continue as humankind needs it.

Prospects for Improving Human Health in the Developing World

Haidar Abbass Ghaleb

Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt

Biotechnology, Informatics and Computer sciences have been the driving force towards almost every aspect of progress and development in life sciences and their impact on health promotion is relevant.

The utilization of progress in biotechnology is going to vary from one country to another according to the level of education, social and economic standards and upon the political status. Although developing world is going to face many problems concerning health and economy, yet countries that have political stability, proper planning, management and good international relationship could achieve some progress.

Biotechnology offers several aspects needed for health promotion especially in the field of prevention and control of infectious and endemic disease (malaria, TB, AIDS, etc.), early detection of diseases, malnourishment and environmental health and ecology. Similarly new patterns of pharmaceutics as gene therapy, targeted drugs and stem cells technology will offer new revenues for health care in almost all types of diseases.

As most of these health services are going to be very expensive and in the light of GATT & STRIPS developing world will face more constraints. Those who would like to catch up should have some essential prerequisites namely, availability of enough well trained higher education graduates (Univ., Tech. Colleges), proper planing and effective management, putting priorities and defining the goals & objectives, on condition there is enough political and financial support, as well as good international relations. It should also be put into consideration that progress in the 21st century depends mainly on the human mind and scientific research management which are primarily directed towards manpower development.

As biotechnology is a multi-disciplinary and accordingly requires integrated teamwork, it is therefore obligatory to select the researchers and technologists not only on their scientific or technical knowledge and skills, but also upon their personality profile. In the mean time technical and scientific training programs should go hand in hand with behavioral sciences ones. Motivation and intellectual property rights are driving forces for the continuity of scientific & technical progress and achievement.

Although central research institution and production organization are available in some developing countries, yet support of medium and small scale research and production units in universities, colleges of technology & in industry has to be considered since it will provide more flexibility and adaptability. National and regional networks

among these technical units and their linkage with entrepreneurial centers for marketing their products would provide national and regional technical and economic progress.

The constraints facing the developing world are great, especially in countries that can not cope with this challenge. International support from north to south could help in promotion of health. This is expected to be directed to environmental health, epidemiology, and to some extent malnutrition (as the latter is a social and political problem rather than being economic since this is essential for the health welfare of the world.

One has to consider the negative impact on health and ecology in developing world, if multinational industry sell some of their new not fully licensed genetically modified agro-products or pharmaceutics (which had not been fully investigated for safety) to the developing world.

Prevention of Human Infectious Diseases in Developing Countries

Pierre Crooy

Scientific Affairs GSK Biologicals &

European Federation of Biotechnology, Belgium

According to WHO (1), an estimate of 56 million people died in 1999, and infectious diseases still accounted for at least 14 million (i.e. 25%) of all these deaths worldwide.

Slightly over 12 million deaths occurred among children less than 5 years of age and over 60% of these deaths were caused by infectious diseases.

Still according to WHO, around 0.5 million deaths occurred in children less than 5 years in 1999 in developed countries and 12.5 million in the developing world, i.e. 25 times more.

The big killers are the acute infections of the lower respiratory tract (4 million), HIV and AIDS (2.7 million), diarrhoeal diseases (2.2 million), tuberculosis (1.7 million), childhood diseases including measles, polio, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis for which we have good vaccines and vaccination programmes, (1.6 million) and malaria (1.1 million).

What has been done in the past to diminish the impact of infectious diseases in the developing countries?

The role of WHO in the eradication of smallpox and, in the near future, of poliomyelitis is a concrete achievement in this regard. The implication of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), of the Children's Vaccine Initiative (CVI), of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), which has established a Global Fund for Children's Vaccines, and of the Group of Eight Nations (G8) will be reviewed.

The second part of the lecture will focus on three infectious diseases that play a dramatic role in developing countries: HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. At GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, in Belgium, vaccines were designed against these 3 diseases and the results of these developments will be reviewed.

Biotechnology: Driven by Profit or Searching

for a Better Environment?

Brian Johnson

Biotechnology Advisory Unit English Nature, UK
Biotechnology and other new breeding techniques could revolutionise global capacity to produce food and other materials. Future breeding programmes will enable more complex changes in plants and animals than the relatively crude transformations now available. Driven by the increase in the world population to a predicted 9 billion, there are continuing demands to increase agricultural production worldwide. This could be done using conventional crop varieties and intensifying agriculture, but increases in cropped areas may be necessary, reducing areas available to natural ecosystems and probably leading to severe degradation of soils, water resources and biodiversity. Although organic production could reduce these impacts, it is unlikely to produce the required increases in yield. Some of the increase could come from simple improvements in methods used by small plot farmers, but there are socio-economic constraints on improving such farming.

To achieve increases in productivity without further degrading the environment, new cropping systems may be needed based on novel crop varieties with traits like resistance to drought, pests and diseases, coupled with changes in plant architecture and growth. Provided it can be used safely, biotechnology could deliver a sustainable way of producing more food in `quasi-organic' systems.

Besides direct risks to the environment from gene flow and possible toxicity from crops, there are also indirect risks from changes in crop management enabled by transgenic varieties. These are illustrated by ecological and agronomic data from GM herbicide tolerant crops in Europe, and by considering risks to the environment arising from commercialisation of GM herbicide tolerant rice.

Environmental impacts from GM crops are discussed in the context of assessing the long-term sustainability of agricultural systems. While some commercial transgenic crops currently available may improve sustainability of intensive, farming systems, others may produce unsustainable intensification.

A framework is put forward for assessing the relative sustainability of cropping systems. Systems demonstrating gains in sustainability may be crucial to public acceptance of transgenic products worldwide. If sustainability is to become a key driver of new developments in agriculture, fisheries and food, there needs to be greater public sector influence over the direction of research and development, rather than the current paradigm of strategies driven by narrow commercial imperatives.

EXTRACTA S.A. - Adding Value to Brazilian Biodiversity through Biotechnology

Antonio Paes de Carvalho

Insitute of Biophysics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and EXTRACTA Molecules Naturals S.A., Brazil

Brazil is among the richest countries in biodiversity and some of its eco-systems have been recognized as biodiversity hot spots. EXTRACTA is a private Brazilian R&D company with siege at BIO-RIO Science Park, on the campus of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Set up as an interface between Science and Industry, EXTRACTA searches Brazilian plant biodiversity for novel molecular backbones that prove to be active against specific targets of interest to governmental and industrial clients in the Health and Agro-industrial sectors. The company possesses state-of-the art biological high throughput screening capabilities coupled with advanced analytical chemistry and proprietary software that controls from records to robots, all technologies which are to be found in few universities and in several biotech companies in Industrialized Countries. EXTRACTA proposes to discover, develop and bring to primary patent lead

molecules to be further developed as more natural pharmaceuticals and environment-friendly agro-products. The basic asset of the company is its rapidly growing collection of natural products extracted from plants. The company was set up to work strictly under the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity and it proposes to optimize the return of benefits to Brazil and its scientific and local communities. It collaborates extensively with Brazilian scientific institutions in its joint research programs with industry. It is presently engaged in a project to bring sustainable socio-economic benefits to local and Indian communities in Amazon and other biodiversity rich ecological niches in Brazil. Perhaps one of the great challenges faced by EXTRACTA is to add value also to the novel and successful Brazilian capability to sequence genomes and to express proteins that are likely to become important targets in the prevention or the management of disease in humans, animals and plants. Although EXTRACTA recognizes that full aggregation of value to Brazilian natural biological and genetic resources requires full development of a multi-tiered economic complex capable to bring technology products into the global market, it feels that the full development of national entrepreneurial and economic potential depends on effective science-industry interfacing by specialized technology companies, coupled to a strong system of science education, efficient high quality graduate programs and full support from national and international policymakers and private investors.

Ethical Issues in Relation

to the New Life Sciences

David Magnus, Sarah Eichberg, Sita Reddy,

Pablo Arredondo, Jon Merz & Arthur Caplan
Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania, USA

The Ethical and Social Dimensions of the GM debate
The genetic modification of food is currently one of the most hotly debated topics across the globe, despite what seem its many potential benefits. Current discourse on the genetic modification of food remains fractious and rancorous, with little hope of resolving the current controversies among stakeholders. Central to re-orienting the debates and to reaching greater agreement on the direction of genetically modified (GM) food research, policies and regulations is the need for novel reshaping of the current risk discourse as it is used in GM deliberations. A complete reframing of the GM debates requires a shift away from a tech-scientific focus on risk (cost/benefit analysis) to a new focus that underscores the centrality of culture and. The very fact that the debate on GM food is so heated is because food biotechnology invades sacred areas _ the moral, the self, the private _ typically seen as outside the bounds of scientific discourse. As it is currently structured this discourse also ignores important socio-political concerns in the global arena and leads to heightened miscommunication and mistrust between "experts" and "lay" publics. This paper presents an attempt to construct a set of principles and themes that can serve as the framework for discourse on the ethics of GMO's and biotechnology. NOTE: These themes and principles were developed thanks to a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

Biotechnology and Agriculture in

Sub-Saharan Africa

Eusebius J. Mukhwana

Sustainable Agriculture Centre for Research, Extension

Development in Africa, Kenya
Biotechnology has been said to offer solutions to the hunger, poverty and health problems that afflict many in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

In the agricultural sector, biotechnology has produced plants that are salt, pest and even drought resistant. These advancements, while laudable cannot go far in reducing the poverty and hunger that afflicts this continent, as this poverty is structurally rooted in an unfair and exploitative system of international trade and resource control. Improvement of yield alone cannot improve the lives of the poor in rural Africa as storage, transportation, marketing, distribution and ability to purchase the food remain nagging problems. Much of SSA best lands and resources are committed to producing cash cops for export, leaving production of staple foods to poor and marginal areas. The irony of this is that food and other farm products currently flow from areas of hunger and need to the north where money is concentrated. The use of biotechnology is most unlikely to change this unsustainable situation, where people who are dying from hunger are exporting coffee, tea or cotton.

Hence if the poverty and hunger of small-holder farmers in SSA is to be addressed, their root causes must be understood and appreciated. Today, the farmers face many problems mostly because of structural and policy inadequacies. Hence, while biotechnology can help improve the situation, we should not loose focus of the bigger picture that keeps many poor and hungry in SSA.

This paper discusses the precarious situation of small-holder farmer in SSA, traces the root causes of the problems and concludes that while biotechnology could play a role in improving this situation, there is need to change the structures that keep many poor and hungry in this part of the world.

Establishment of Salt Tolerant Somatic Hubrids through Protoplast Fusion between Oryza (Rice) and Phragmites Communis (Ditch Reed)

A. Mostageer and Osama M.El Shihy

Faculty of Agriculture, University of Cairo, Egypt

Transfer of genes for salt tolerance from ditch reed into rice was thought to be of primary importance to Egypt Intergeneric somatic hybridization of these two genera, followed by selection, was attempted. Calli were obtained from the leaf cells of two Egyptian rice varieties (Giza 175 and Giza 178) and of ditch reed.

Isolated protoplasts of the two rice varieties were fused with reed protoplasts by means of polyethylene glyool (PEG) or electrofusion, and whole plants were generated from the hybrid protoplasts thus produced (and identified), Rooted plantlets were transferred to pots in the greenhouse and grown to maturity and seed set. Seeds produced by these hybrids differed widely in size. For five seasons (1993-1997) larger sized seeds were selected and grown under salinity stress using sea water for irrigation. Twelve lines were established five of which were genetically identified and field tested during the growing seasons 1998, 1999 and 2000 in Fayoum, Beni Suef and Damietta. The following table gives a summary of results obtained:

Line Season Governorate Area Planted Saltin Soil Yisid Feddan

(Feddan) (ppm) (ton)

I 1998 Fayoum 2.0 8000-10000 2.5

I 1999 Fayoum 2.5 8000-10000 2.5

I 1999 Damietta 2.0 6000- 8000 2.5

II 1998 Fayoum 2.0 8000-10000 2.7

III 1999 Fayoum 2.5 6000 3.1

III 2000 Fayoum 4.0 6000 3.1

IV 2000 Fayoum 4.0 4000 3.0

IV 2000 Beni Suef 5.0 32000 1.5

V 2000 Beni Suef 5.0 32000 3.6

Case Study: Progress of a GM technology for control of bacterial wilt on potato and its niche within the cropping system of Kenya

Julian Smith¹, Kinyua Muirimi², Gilbert Kibata², Reinette Gouws and Sarah Simons³

¹ CABI Bioscience, Bakeham Lane, Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom

² Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Kenya

³ Agricultural Research Council, Republic of South Africa

⁴ AB International Africa Regional Centre, Nairobi, Kenya.

A novel method for the control of bacterial wilt of potato is required for many countries where access to sufficient land and certified seed prevents effective rotation and planting of healthy seed. CABI Bioscience and KARI have developed a biocontrol agent [BCA} against bacterial wilt and identified a niche within the farmer system for its application. The BCA developed is a genetically modified non-pathogen mutant of the wild type organism, Ralstonia solanacearum. The strategy for its application takes a cropping system view of the problem.

This paper presents the steps taken in the progression of the BCA from its development, testing, environmental monitoring and progression through the biosafety framework of Kenya in gaining permission for in-country evaluation. This case study has particular value in that the BCA was one of the first GM technologies to be addressed in East Africa. It also presents novelty in considering the use of a transgenic bacterium within agriculture. The current status for the BCA is that conditional approval has been granted by the National Council for Science and Technology for testing the BCA in Kenya. In parallel KARI researchers have received experience of research with the BCA, a GMO bacterium, in readiness for in-country testing.

The questions asked of the environmental impact assessment are particularly challenging, requiring the consideration of soil microbial communities. Molecular approaches have been employed to elucidate the BCAs persistence and interplay with other microbial communities. The results of these studies have relevance to the epidemiology of the wild type pathogen and have lead to more robust cultural control recommendations. Similarly, the research targeting the inclusion of the BCA into the farming systems of Kenya has identified a novel on-farm pro-poor seed production method of proven value in increasing access to healthy seed and maintaining on-farm seed health.

Development Commercialization and Marketing

of a Salmonella Specific Diagnostic Kit

¹Joseph Muchabaiwa Gopo & ²E. Barros

¹Ministry of Higher Education, Namibia

²Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) Food Technology, South Africa
A DNA fragment 2.46 Kb was isolated from the genomic DNA of Salmonella Typhimurium. After extensive testing and screening, the fragment demonstrated specificity of genus Salmonella. Further testing also demonstrated that the fragment was sensitive, rapid cost effective, simple to use, in the detection and diagnosis of Salmonella spp in food-drink, process factory environments, clinical diagnosis and veterinary cases. Further restruction analysis of the 2.46Kb Sal-15 DNA probe showed the resultant 361 bp probe developed from the 2.46kb fragment, did not lose the detection specificity to genus Salmonella. This was a significant development as a smaller DNA probe fragment is cheaper to use and more desirable for use in routine diagnostic nucleic acid procedures. The 361bp DNA fragment has now been further tested sequenced and developed into a Salmonella specific DNA probe.

In order to develop the DNA probe into a diagnostic kit it was labelled, using the DIG or ECL direct nucleic acid labelling and chemiluminescent or colorimetric detection system. The Sal-15 Diagnostic kit was screened and tested against a large number of different Salmonella spp and Enterobacteriaceae.

The Salmonella specific diagnostic kit contains the DIG or ECL labelled Salmonella DNA probe, the detection reagents for either colorimetric or chemiluminescent detection procedures information sheets and relevant buffer systems. The Salmonella specific diagnostic kit is now available for commercial marketing through Mr. C Quirk of Clinical Sciences Diagnostic Equipment (Pvt.) Ltd. P O Box 6157, Halway House 1685, Pretoria, South Africa, Tel: 27-11-315-1146. Special contacts can also be made through Dr J M Gopo or Dr E Barros as indicated above. The Commercialization of the Sal-15-DNA kit has not progressed as was expected due to problems of proprietary nature, due to failure to obtain royalty agreements with the accessing of the DIG or ECL direct nucleic acid labelling and detection systems.

The Role of International Organizations

Hussein A. Gezairy & Abdel Aziz Saleh

WHO/EMRO, Egypt

Human health is the central focus of many international organizations' activities. Looking to the principal organs of the United Nations system, it is clear that almost all UN organizations, programmes, funds and commissions have some responsibility to promote human health at global, regional and national levels.

WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA have special mandates to support global health and the health of special groups. The UN system has developed the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF ) to provide comprehensive support to countries. WHO has the mandate and responsibility to guide other partners involved in global health governance towards the attainment of health for all at global, regional and national levels.

As the world's health advocate, WHO promotes global health equity between and within countries; identifies policies and practices that benefit or harm health; and protects the health of vulnerable and poor communities. It provides a facilitating and enabling environment within which the diverse range of partners for health can work effectively together in promoting a global agenda for health.

In its technical cooperation with all countries, WHO tailors its support to the needs of countries, and in doing so, coordinates its efforts with other international organizations and initiatives. It aims to achieve policy alignment and close dialogue between these partners. In addition, WHO encourages countries and development agencies to invest where the preventable disease burden among the poor remains high. WHO supports and encourages all countries in their health development process by providing assistance to strengthen their policy-making role, management capability and systems of accountability. The need for strong institutional and human capacity to support health actions is also emphasized. WHO, in collaboration with other international agencies, strengthens countries' capabilities to develop sustainable health systems. WHO also seeks to mobilize financial resources through a strengthened global alliance to meet the health needs of programmes and countries. Priority is given to the poorest countries and communities and to countries with weak institutional capabilities for health development.

The WHO global document on health for all in the twenty-first century identifies WHO's roles and functions as follows:

• Serve as the world's health advocate, by providing leadership for health for all.

• Develop global ethical and scientific norms and standards.

• Develop international instruments that promote global health.

• Engage in technical cooperation with all counties.

• Strengthen countries' capabilities to build sustainable health systems and improve the performance of essential public health functions.

• Protect the health of vulnerable and poor communities and countries.

• Foster the use of, and innovation in, science and technology for health.

• Provide leadership for the eradication, elimination or control of selected diseases.

• Provide technical support to prevention of public health emergencies and post-emergency rehabilitation.

• Build partnerships for health.

Biotechnology and Biosafety in Brazil

Marilia Nutti & Maria Jose Sampaio

(Lucia Aleixo [presenter])

Embrapa Food Technology, Brazil

Modern plant biotechnology has led to the development of novel plant varieties that would never have been possible using traditional breeding methods. Advances on genetic mapping and gene transfer and in the manipulation of gene regulation are allowing scientists to redraw the genetic blueprint of plants, animals and microorganisms.

The number and importance of discoveries and advances in the field of biotechnology suggest that this century will present significant opportunities for agriculture but will also involve the debate on numerous other issues and concerns that need to be addressed along the way in both developed and developing countries. The ability to insert desirable traits in plants has produced a first generation of biotechnology products that can help to enhance production practices and a second generation will expand opportunities for farmers even more through various quality traits, functional food crops or even crops and animals designed to produce high-value pharmaceuticals or industrial chemicals as biofactories. But benefits come at some costs as technological innovations often result in some displacement or changes in institutional arrangements.

The use of genetic engineering in Brazilian agriculture has to be analyzed, case by case, under several perspectives: (i) relevance of recombinant DNA technology for the sustainable development of businesses including small farming; (ii) technology safety for the consumer and for the environment, according to the existing scientific knowledge; (iii) possible commercial advantages for Brazil because of the certification of origin of some non-transgenic commodities; and, (iv) consumer's right to choose its food through adequate labeling.

Although being technically prepared for the commercial planting of genetically modified organisms (GMO), Brazil has not been able to become a member of the World transgenic club as the commercial use of GMO has been tripping for the last four years in a juridical decision that prohibited the commercial planting of glyphosate resistant soybean, the only product approved for commercial use by the National Technical Biosafety Committee1 (CTNBio). Similarly to other countries the commercial use of GMO has raised a strong reaction against biotechnology in some sectors of the Brazilian society, a movement led by international non-governmental organizations. It is not surprising that in some states there is a similar reaction to what has been seen in Europe, with the destruction of experimental fields and proposals for an open-ended moratorium alleging a niche market with differential pricing in Europe.

Despite of the situation, research on GMO continues to develop in Brazil, however at a slower pace if compared to five years ago. More than 1000 contained field tests with transgenic plants have already been approved by CTNBio, including corn, soybean, cotton, eucalyptus, sugarcane, tobacco, potatoes, sweet corn and papaya. National private and multinational corporations as well as public research institutions participate in this effort. The major target of this process has been the test of transgenic plants with resistance to insects, virus and tolerance to herbicides.

To ensure the general public about Biotechnology related issues the Brazilian Government has officially positioned itself in favor of the use of this modern technology, including transgenic products, giving they undergo all the necessary safety tests and are approved by CTNBio. In July, 2001, after many months of consultations with stakeholders, industry and research institutions, Government decided to issue a Labeling Decree to be applied to processed food containing genetically engineered DNA or protein above the maximum of 4% threshold level. At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture will provide means for the official certification of GMO - free products. Farmers and the food industry have welcomed the new rules however the Consumers Association (IDEC) is trying to suspend the application of the new Decree with the excuse that consumers will not be truly informed because of its necessary threshold. As the soybean planting season ends in October farmers who were expecting to start to compare their profit with fellows in Argentina may have to wait for another year

Biotechnology Development: Asian Experiences

Sutat Sriwatanapongse

Thailand Biodiversity Center, Thialand

Thailand has joined the world community recognising the potentials of biotechnology to affect a broad spectrum of industries. The National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) was established in 1983 with the launching of the Science and Technology Development Project (STDB) in 1985. During the first eight years, BIOTEC obtained its authority directly from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and had mandate in coordinating biotechnology research and development across the country. At the end of 1991, the two activities, BIOTEC and STDB, were merged as part of the National Science and Development Agency (NSTDA), an autonomous government agency with the mandate to be the main "driving force" for rapid S&T development. The opportunities for the application of biotechnology in both public and business sectors are anticipated to grow at a faster pace in years to come. The government, through the NSTDA action, will enhance not only the national RD&E but also concentrate on technology transfer in collaboration with private sector as well as international community with an aim to commercialization.

Biotechnology is in fact not new but has been used for centuries. It involves any technique that uses living organisms, or parts thereof, to make or modify products, to improve plants or animals, or to develop microorganisms for specific uses. Fermentation and plant tissue culture are probably considered as old biotechnology that have helped producing foods and alcoholic beverages. These technologies are still useful, especially with combination of modern science such as molecular biology, biochemistry, molecular genetics and electronics. Genes in all living organisms could be discovered through the "Genome Research" and their fuctions known. At present Thailand has joined the International Rice Genome Sequencing Consortium with the leader of Japan and US. China, Korea, Taiwan, and India have also participated in the effort. It is anticipated that many applications could be made from knowledge coming out from genome research. This includes the application in agriculture through agricultural biotechnology.

Developing countries have faced similar constraints in biotechnology capacity building. One way to overcome this is through various networking and partnership arrangement. In Asia, many biotechnology networks are already exist. These include the International Molecular Biology Network (IMBN), the Asian Rice Biotechnology Network (ARBN), the Asian Maize Biotechnology Network (AMBIONET), and the Papaya Network of Southeast Asia. Most of the Asian countries are now in the process of capacity building to cope with a rapid technology development together with problems and issues such as biosafety and intellectual property. Realizing that biotechnology is a new tool in development, it therefore needs a new policy, effective regulatory mechanisms and safeguards so that the impact of this advanced technology is both productive and benign.

New Biotechnology Applications in Fish

Peter Richard Gardiner & LIM Li Sze

(George John [presenter])

ICLARM, Malaysia

In comparison with crops and in livestock, applications of the tools of molecular biology to fish, aquaculture and fisheries management are relatively recent. Aquaculture is a relatively young but fast growing commercial enterprise using species that are close to wild relatives. Efforts in basic and applied research must be spread over a number of key organisms. For example, gene mapping efforts are focused on such different organisms as the salmonids (salmon and trout), catfish, tilapia, shrimp and oyster. Over 100 aquatic species are presently being farmed. Some experimental systems for analysis of genomics (eg. Fugu rubripes, a puffer fish) or developmental biology (e.g. Danio rerio, the zebrafish, a member of the cyprinid family which includes the major carps of importance to Asian aquaculture) have only become tractable alternatives in recent years. Fugu has been selected as a target organism for international efforts in genomic sequencing because of its small genome size. The general level of synteny between fish species is being determined but it is expected that results from Fugu and zebrafish research will aid the mapping of commercial fish species, as well as contribute to knowledge of gene function and control in higher vertebrates.

In parallel, family-based selective breeding, using quantitative genetic approaches which maximize the genetic heterogeneity within essentially wild aquatic species, can still provide impressive gains in growth. ICLARM and its partners have shown 85% growth increases over 6 generations for Nile tilapia by selective breeding and an average value of around 10% per generation for early generation (F1 to F3) improvement in three carp species in Asia. As in other organisms, the development of marker assisted selection can be expected to be key to multitrait selection in farmed fish and breeding for traits that otherwise need destructive evaluation of phenotypes.

Fish are relatively plastic with respect to sex determination and the production of monosex populations of tilapia and carp are used to increase the productivity of growout in aquaculture. Lines with uniparental inheritance (through androgenesis or gynogynesis) can be produced as research tools, although the individual sex determining elements are still incompletely known. Infertile intraspecies hybrids (tilapia) or triploid fish (e.g. grass carp) have been deployed as key components of culture systems and this may be an appropriate way of deploying other improved strains and species. The steady development of genetic markers is assisting strain and pedigree characterization in aquaculture, tracking of migratory species and meta-population analysis of wild (marine and freshwater) species in relation to conservation, stock enhancement and fisheries management.

Transgenesis is being successfully carried out in both experimental fish systems and commercial fish species (using for the latter preponderantly piscine growth hormone or antifreeze genes). No transgenic fish has so far been licensed for commercial aquaculture. Few developing countries have regulations to govern the use (the on-breeding, monitoring and distribution) of transgenic organisms although several developing countries have institutes conducting research in this field. Continuing international efforts are needed to raise awareness of the benefits and potential drawbacks of individual technologies, and their appropriate weighting in national efforts to improve aquaculture and fisheries.

Novel Approaches for Vaccine Development against Trypanosomiasis in Africa

Noel B. Murphy

The Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College, Ireland

Trypanosomiasis is considered the greatest health constraint to livestock productivity in sub- Saharan Africa with costs ranging between $2 and $5 billion annually. It is also a human disease that is fatal if untreated. The disease is caused by a haemoprotozoan parasite, the trypanosome, and is transmitted by tsetse flies that occupy 10 million km of some of the most fertile land in the region. Attempts at genetic improvement of livestock breeds are negated by their increased susceptibility to the disease. Current control measures are inadequate to halt the devastating effects of this disease syndrome as is evidenced by its continued increase. Trypanosomes are masters of immune evasion and many believe that the development of a vaccine is impossible. Nevertheless, this is the one control option that all agree would have major impact. African wildlife species resist the effects of trypanosomiasis and thrive in areas where indigenous tolerant livestock species would succumb. We have examined the mechanisms of resistance to trypanosomiasis in the Cape buffalo and have elucidated both innate an acquired resistance mechanisms. Acquired immunity points to the flagellar pocket of trypanosomes as the target for vaccine development. Considered the trypanosome "Achilles' Heel", this region has been inaccessible to study until recently. Proteins from the flagellar pocket were used to immunise laboratory animals and shown to induce significant levels of protection against infection and disease. Directing immune response of cattle to this region of the parasite has, for the first time, demonstrated that susceptible cattle can be induced to control the disease. We will discuss details of this research and how genomics and recombinant DNA technologies can contribute to the development of a vaccine with the potential of reducing the burden of trypanosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa and other developing regions where the disease is endemic.

Perspective from life science industry

Mohamed Ali Saber

Biochemistry and Medicinal Chemistry Department, Theodore Bilharz Research Institute, Cairo & Biotechnology EIPICO Company, 10^th of Ramadan City, Egypt

Life science is a broad field that encompasses agricultural biotechnology, biotechnology, health technology ( diagnostics, therapeutics, medical devices ), genomics, bioinformatics and health informatices. The life science industry is a rapidly growing industry in developed countries, and slowly in developing countries.

The advent in genetic engineering in the 1970's, gave scientists the tools to produce large amounts of naturally occurring proteins that can be beneficial in treating several diseases. More than 20 biotech drugs are presently used in clinical practice in all major countries.

Today, the cost of developing a new drug is in the order of $600 million and the FDA estimates the average development time to be approx. 10 years. Both coast and development time are affordable only by few international pharmaceutical companies.

The pharmaceutical industry in Egypt is still depends on formulation and generic versions of drugs, which is a troublesome situation after the expiry of grace period of the GATT and TRIPS agreements in year 2004.

Transfer of new technology, from developed countries to developing countries, especially recombinant DNA technology, will help to catch up with new developments in the pharmaceutical field

Presenting an example of Biotechnology Transfer Agreement between International Institution in developed country to private pharmaceutical company EIPICO (Egypt)

EIPICO has established a Biotechnology Center according to GMP specifications, on area of 700 Sq. m. The center has the facilities to produce different recombinant proteins expressed in bacterial, yeast or mammalian cells. The first biopharmaceutical products by genetic engineered, has been successfully manufactured and will be available in the market.

Emerging Regulatory Regimes in Africa

Jennifer Thomson

University of Cape Town, South Africa

A number of countries in Africa are in various stages of implementing and developing regulations regarding the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). South Africa was the first to institute regulations. It formed the SA Committee for Genetic Experimentation (SAGENE) in the late 1970s. SAGENE dealt with requests for permission to carry out laboratory, glasshouse or field trials with GMOs. It also registered laboratories and glasshouses for work with GMOs. However, SAGENE was simply an advisory body to government as applicants had merely to comply with a voluntary code of conduct. The GMO Act was passed by parliament in 1997 but it took until 2000 for the regulations to be published and for the Act to come into effect. The current procedure for applications is that they are received by the Registrar for Genetic Resources in the Department of Agriculture who appoints a member of the Advisory Committee to act as chair for the review. This person then appoints three reviewers and on receiving their reports s/he compiles a report for the Registrar. This is sent to the Advisory Committee for comment. On receipt of this the Registrar presents a letter of recommendation to the Executive Council which is comprised of members of the relevant government departments. The GMO regulations stipulate that this process should not take longer than 90 days for a decision on field trials and 180 days for a decision on general release applications. All reviewers and members of the Executive Council and Advisory Committee have to sign a deed of confidentiality. Field inspectors are appointed by the Registrar to ensure that trials are carried out in accordance with the Act. The status of regulations in other countries in Africa, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia will be reviewed.

Protecting Our Genetic Resources

(Global Conservation Trust)

Ismail Serageldin

Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt

Conserving genetic resources is a challenge for all humanity. Without genetic resources from plants, we lose one of our greatest tools to alleviate poverty, provide food security, fight disease and protect the environment.

The mission of the Global Conservation Trust is to conserve international and national collections of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and to ensure that they are available to be used for improving the productivity and nutritional value of crops for the benefit of all humanity. Its ambitious goals are to raise $260 million - through a public-private partnership — for a fund to help sustain the conservation and use of plant genetic resources around the world. The campaign for the Trust also seeks to elevate agriculture as a global philanthropic priority and to ensure that people everywhere understand the importance of conserving agricultural biodiversity and of using it as a basis for human development and food security
The Campaign intends to support the commitment of national and international organizations to keep three promises:

• In 1994, The Future Harvest Centres made a commitment to the United Nations to hold the genetic resources collections housed in the Centres in trust for humanity

• In 1996, 150 countries adopted the FAO Global Plan of Action for plant genetic resources, pledging to create and support a rational system of genetic resources collections around the world.

• In 2001, 140 countries adopted the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, a pledge to promote the development of an efficient and equitable system of genetic resources exchange among countries.

The campaign for the Trust is being led by a partnership involving the Future Harvest Centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The World Bank and the Global Forum for Agricultural Research are also collaborators in this initiative.

Role of Civil Society in the New Life Sciences

Gregory Jaffe

Biotechnology Project, Center for Science in the Public Interest, USA

A Consumer Perspective on Regulating the New Life Sciences

For the past few years, different countries have been regulating agricultural biotechnology crops to ensure those products are safe for humans and the environment. Have those regulatory systems been successful? What lessons can be learned from those systems? This presentation will analyze different issues that must be confronted when a country establishes a regulatory system for biotechnology products. Particular emphasis will be placed on how the public should be involved in the regulatory process and how to ensure consumer trust in the regulatory system. Without public trust in government regulation of biotechnology, there will be no consumer confidence in those products that have passed government scrutiny. However, a strong regulatory system that ensures safe products, will allow society to fully utilize the benefits of biotechnology.

Understanding Public Concerns

Thomas Hoban

Global Society at N.C. State University, USA

We need wisdom and foresight.

We are in the early stages of a scientific revolution that will impact every aspect of our society and the natural world. Over the last few decades, scientists have made great progress toward understanding the blueprint of life contained in DNA. Fruits of these discoveries are now starting to arrive on the market and are being put to use in the natural environment.

It is clear from the recent Emerging Issues Forum that our leaders now look to biotechnology as a key economic engine for our state and nation. Thanks to the foresight of leaders like former Gov. Jim Hunt, North Carolina is positioned among the top five states in the country for taking advantage of this opportunity. Our state also has the chance to lead the world in developing new societal institutions and the wisdom to properly manage our newfound power.

For the past 12 years I have conducted social science research with people from around the world. It is clear that the potential benefits of biotechnology will never be realized if society does not accept the science and resulting products as effective and safe. Such acceptance is not guaranteed. Some groups are concerned that these changes are taking place too quickly. They worry that our culture and institutions are not able to keep pace.

Such a reaction has been observed with other technological revolutions, but the sense of anxiety here is even deeper and more profound. Basic questions are being raised about the nature of life and the sanctity of human heritage.

From a scientific perspective, it is imperative that we carefully evaluate the benefits, risks and ethical implications associated with each new application of biotechnology. Unfortunately, it is not possible to fully comprehend and control all impacts. We are dealing with complex systems and inherent uncertainty. We need greater commitment of resources to ongoing research and informed debate.

Society is only starting to come to grips with the nature, scope and pace of these scientific changes. On one hand, public policies are being adopted that would either ban areas of scientific development or establish such stringent regulations that innovation will be stifled. On the other hand, some within the business community argue that the market should be able to sort out the winners from the losers.

Neither of these extreme positions will be socially responsible or effective over the long term. The science and technology are simply too powerful and pervasive. What is needed is a major commitment toward an open societal dialogue about the issues

associated with biotechnology. This in turn requires a much greater commitment to communication among all the segments of society with an interest in our collective future.

We need better understanding of society's hopes and fears, priorities and prejudices, and vision for the future. This will require a systematic program for social science research to analyze the full range of views from the broadest cross section of society. Such research will also shed light on the communication challenges scientists and others face when trying to communicate with consumers in a credible manner.

Our state universities are ready to help society understand and deal with the changes that arise from the developments in science and technology. For more than a century, research universities have played a major role in the development and promotion of new science and technology. We now must ensure that our knowledge and tools are used ethically and safely.

Universities also have the unique opportunity to facilitate the interaction and involvement of a wide range of stakeholder groups. These issues require the active involvement of all disciplines found within the university. We can bring public and private sector leaders together with citizen groups and other interests. Universities provide a learning environment where all points of view can be aired and considered.

Above all, we have a shared obligation to future generations to ensure that we leave the world a better place than we found it. Biotechnology gives us the power to make unprecedented changes to our environment and our own evolution. We need the wisdom and foresight to ensure that safety and ethics are confirmed before new products are introduced into the environment, food supply, or health care system.

THE IMPACT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ON CROP IMPROVEMENT

John Dodds

The International Center for Agricultural, Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Aleppo Syria, Dodds & Associates Law Firm, USA

The science of plant breeding, that has produced substantial increases in productivity to feed a continually increasing population, has over the last decade we have undergone a revolution in science of a magnitude never before seen. As scientists we truly are honored to live through these times. The new tools of "genomics" and biotechnology have led to a dramatic increase in the knowledge base from which we work, and open the doors to custom design of plants with a wide array of specific genetic characteristics. Associated with this revolution in science has been a dramatic shift in the interpretation of Intellectual Property statutes to allow for proprietary protection on living organisms and biological processes. This may have been a crucial catalyst in terms of investment by the private sector in Agricultural Research & Development. One of the challenges to be addressed is how the benefits of this new science can be made most effectively available to the poor of the developing world, within the framework of an international IP protocol.