Abhatoo - Centre Nationale de Documentation

I. Introduction

Science and technology are essential contributors to solving the global problems of hunger,

poverty and environmental degradation is widely recognized. The Economic and Social

Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC), at its plenary meeting in 2004, noted that most

developing countries are unlikely to meet the Millennium Development Goals without a

clear political commitment to making science and technology among top priorities in their

development agenda1. FAO Members called for strengthening efforts in maximizing the

benefits and minimizing the potential adverse consequences of biotechnology, through the

Committee on Agriculture, the Council and the Conference, which endorsed in 1999, the

development of a multi-disciplinary, cross-sectoral programme. In response, the

Biotechnology Applications in Food and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Priority Area

for Interdisciplinary Action (Biotech-PAIA) was established and an Inter-Departmental

Working Group on Biotechnology was set up to oversee its planning and implementation.

FAO recognizes the potential of biotechnology within a comprehensive framework of

sustainable agricultural development in fighting hunger and malnutrition, through

quantitative and qualitative increases in agricultural production, with reduced

environmental impacts. Biotechnology-based tools are used for mass propagation of

disease-free plantlets, already contribute to the enhancement of agricultural production in

many African countries. Other promising biotechnological methods include using

marker-assisted selection, which allows a faster and more targeted development of

improved genotypes for all living species. Such markers provide new research tools

which can assist in the conservation and characterization of biodiversity. NERICA

varieties, which hold great promise to strongly impact the rice production in Western

Africa, derive from an application of biotechnology to rice genetic improvement. Crop

and livestock breeding are essential for agriculture to benefit from genetic resources now

being conserved and shared through the new International Treaty on Plant Genetic

Resources for Food and Agriculture. Modern biotechnologies dramatically increase the

potential of using genetic resources. The development and deployment of modern

biotechnologies, also includes genetically modified organisms (GMOs), obtained through

genetic engineering which should be managed safely and efficiently. National capacities

in practical crop improvement can be strengthened in developing countries, especially in

Africa through effective and efficient integration of biotechnology become well in the

conventional breeding work. .