Jawahir L. KarihalooCoordinator, Asia-Pacific Consortium on Agricultural Biotechnology

(APCoAB), APAARI

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Role of Biotechnology in Improving Agricultural Productivity and Poverty Alleviation in the Asia-Pacific Region

Diversity of Asia-Pacific region

• 38 developing countries– Southeast Asia– South and Southwest Asia– Central Asia– East Asia– Pacific Islands

Diverse economies andexperiences in adoption ofbiotechnology in agriculture

Agriculture is important to A-P region

0

1020

3040

50

60

Per

cent

Asia-Pacif icdevelopingcountries

All Asia-Pacifc

Rest ofw orld

World

Regions

Agricultural population

AP region contributes substantially to world agricultural production

010203040506070

Per

cen

t

Cereals

Tubers

& ro

ot cro

psPuls

esVeg

etable

oils

FruitsVeg

etable Milk

Meat

Inlan

d cap

ture f

ish

Commodity

Source: FAO, 2009

More than 60% of hungry are in Asia and Pacific

42(+13.5%) 15

(+15.4%)53

(12.8%)

265(+11.8%)

642(+10.5%)

Asia and the Pacific

Sub-Saharan Africa

Latin America and theCaribbeanNear East and NorthAfricaDeveloped Countries

For the first time > 1 billion people are undernourished

Undernourished people

Undernourishment on the Rise throughout the World and Highest in Asia-Pacific

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Asia and the Pacif ic Latin America and theCaribbean

Near East and NorthAfrica

Sub-Saharan Africa

mill

ions

1990-92 1995-97 2000-02 2004-06 2008 2009

Ug99 wheat rust race threat to wheat and food security

• Origin- in 1999 in Uganda , Kenya, Ethiopia,(2003) Yemen, Sudan 2006, Iran 2008

• Emerging, threatening and spreading fast – 50mha or 25% of world’s wheat crop with 90% of wheat cultivars are susceptible to Ug99

Biosecurity – A serious issue

Source:http://www.impatientoptimists.org/~/media/Images/BlogPosts/Articl

e%20Feature%20Images/ug99map.jpg

Potential Biosecurity Threat – Ug 99 strain of Wheat Stem Rust

‘Locust Watch’- Guarding our Borders from Locust Menace

• Active 

coordination 

with 

FAO 

and 

neighboring 

countries 

for 

surveillance, 

early 

detection and control measures exists

• Locust survey and control are under the Ministry of Agriculture of most countries. 

• Regional locust organizations assist with survey and control operations. • FAO operates a centralized Desert Locust Information Service who

analyze

• weather and habitat data

• satellite imagery to assess the current locust situation, 

• provide forecasts and issue warnings on an ad‐hoc basis

http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/en/info/info/index.html

Productivity deficitProductivity deficit

Farmer Income Farmer Income

Resiliense and SustainabilityResiliense and Sustainability

Impact of Climate Change Impact of Climate Change

Biosecurity Biosecurity

ChallengesChallenges

Biotechnology under Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is defines as: “any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use”• Micropropagation• Chromosome number manipulation• Marker assisted selection, genomics• Genetic modification• Biotechnology based diagnostics and vaccines• Animal reproductive biotechnologies• Mutagenesis• Fermentation• Biopesticides and biofertilizers

Biotechnology

*

Adoption of biotechnology: Status• 17 countries have one or more ministries responsible for

biotechnology research in agriculture

• 11 have ongoing programs on application of biotechnology in agriculture

• More than 50 crops and forestry trees are being targeted for genetic modification for diverse traits, most prominent among which are resistance to diseases and pests, and abiotic stress tolerance

• Animal reproductive biotechnologies, nutrition biotechnologies, disease diagnostics and vaccine research in several countries

Source: FAO, 2011

Some successes – Plant micropropagation

• Use of tissue culture based microtuber production has resulted in doubling the yield of potato (Vietnam).

• Development of disease-free mother plants of sweet potato led to at least 30 percent yield increase (China).

• Integration of micropropagation with conventional multiplication, disease detection and elimination, in potato, sugarcane and banana has led to substantial improvements in seedling quality, health and economic returns (India, Philippines).

• Tissue culture based floriculture and plantation industry is well established in a number of countries.

However, there is vast untapped potential (cost, field adaptation, delivery system)

Banana micropropagation

Some successes – GM crops

GM crops are under commercial cultivation in China, India, Pakistan and the Philippines.

China, Korea, the Philippines and Thailand have approved some GM crops for food and livestock feed.

In India the area under Bt cotton reached 9.4 million hectares in 2010-11, which constitutes nearly 86% of the total cotton area of the country.

In Pakistan, Bt cotton covers 2.4 million ha, 75% of total cotton area.

In Philippines, GM corn covers 45% of 1.2 million ha potential yellow corn area.

GM Technology- Bt Cotton in India

Bt Success story

Adoption of Bt cotton in India

7.67 7.638.78 8.68 9.14 9.41 9.41 9.6

11

0.029 0.086 0.0531.25

3.8

6.27.6

8.49.4

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

Year

Mill

ion

hect

ares

Area total (mha)Area Bt (mha)

Bt cotton field grown in India since 2002 now occupies 86% of total cotton area

Bt Cotton impact in India

• Yield increase by 40%• Pesticide spray reduction from 4.2 kg/ac to 2.6

kg/ac • Farmer profit increase up to 120%• Raw cotton export increase from USD16.5

million (2002-03) to USD 2.6 billion (2009-10)

Bt Cotton Impact

Changes in household incomes

Golden rice

Marker aided selection

Molecular markers offer a more efficient means of selection for desired traits than conventional breeding approaches

Pro-poor marker aided selection

• MAS has been successfully applied for to develop a downy mildew resistant pearl millet hybrid ‘HHB 67- Improved’.

• The potential pearl millet grain yield losses in one year of a major downy mildew epidemic exceeds the total research funding utilized for developing ‘HHB 67- Improved’.

• Bacterial blight resistant varieties of rice have been developed in China and India.

• In the Philippines, rice variety IR64-Sub1 developed through marker aided selection from the popular IR64 has tolerance to submergence.

Some successes – Genetic resources conservation

• Biotechnological tools are being used for conservation, characterization, evaluation and enhancement of crop and forestry genetic resources.

• Genebanks and other institutions in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines and Chinese Taipei apply in vitro and cryopreservation techniques for ex situ conservation of vegetatively propagated and recalcitrant species.

• In China, two in vitro banks have 1,787 collections while in India, seven in vitro and cryopreservation facilities hold 7,922 and 1,904 accessions, respectively.

Jatropha seedlings raised from cryostored seeds

Jatropha plants established in pot

In vitro plantlets raised from cryostored

embryonic axes

Cryopreservation for conservation

Some successes – Other crop improvement technologies

• 1,336 food crop varieties having been developed through mutation in Asia.

• Doubled haploid and interspecific hybrid rice varieties are being grown in China and Vietnam

Animal reproductive biotechnologies

Artificial Insemination (AI) Total worldwide 144 million (2007) in cattle, pigs, sheep,

goats, ducks. In India 34 million Number of organizations: public 17, private 6, breeding

organizations 6, NGOs 4

Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer (MOET)• Eight Asian countries use ET• In vitro and in vivo produced bovine embryo transfers in

Asia: 128,195 (2007)

Animal reproductive biotechnologies

Cryopreservation

Semen, embryos in cattle, buffaloes, goats, sheep

Genebanks in Japan, Korea, India, VietnamGender pre-selection (sexing): semen, embryos

Cloning and transgenics

Embryo splitting, embryonic cell nuclear transfer, somatic cell nuclear transfer

Experimental cloned buffaloes in China, India. Some countries have transgenic capabilities

Molecular markers

Genetic resources characterization

Maker assisted selection

Biotechnologies in animal health: livestock, poultry & fish

Disease diagnosisImmunoassays (ELISA), DNA/RNA probes, PCR,

DNA microarraysChina, India, Chinese Taipei, Thailand: public sector

production of biotech based diagnostic kits for animal diseases

Vaccine developmentRecombinant DNA technology

Seven Asian countries produce animal vaccines derived from biotechnology

Perceived risks of GM organisms and products

1. Health risks;

2. Risks associated with the development of resistance in the target organisms;

3. Biodiversity risks, including crop monoculture, gene flow and non-target species risks; and

4. IPR, local seed industry.

Status of Regulatory Preparedness on Biosafety

• Most countries have ratified the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety except Afghanistan, Iraq and Nepal

• Ratification does not necessarily reflect the preparedness

• Many countries have developed frameworks/ legislations on their own, while several have done it with support of international agencies

• Countries that have enforced Biosafety Regulations – Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia,

Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Chinese Tapei and Vietnam

• Others that have Biosafety Regulations at various stages of development

– Bhutan, Cambodia, DPR Korea, Laos Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, and Papua New Guinea

FAO - International Conference on Agricultural Biotechnology

Guadalajara, Mexico, 1-4 March, 2010

FAO ABDC-10 Asia-Pacific Session

CONSTRAINTS• Policy support not very conducive in many countries• Limited capacity (technology, technology adaptation

and adoption, regulatory & IP issues, communication) in several countries, especially in small Island nations

• Limited and unsustained funding for biotechnology R&D. Need for special attention to livestock and fishery biotechnology

• Public awareness and IP issues • Regulatory management needs streamlining

Recommendations: Priorities for action

Enabling policy environment:• Extend and enhance policy and funding support to

biotechnology R&D• Adopt need-based biotechnology tools and

techniques, and integrated strategies and package of practices to improve small farm-level productivity and profitability

• Adopt IP and benefit sharing policies appropriate to the need to protect farmers’ and consumers’ interests

Recommendations: Priorities for action

Human Resources Development: • Strengthen, with support from FAO and other donor

agencies, some existing national institutions to serve as Regional Hubs for sustained capacity building

• Collaborate in regional and interregional capacity building through support of NARS, CG centres, other international institutions and regional fora

Recommendations: Priorities for action

Improve Regulatory Management:• Adopt biosafety regulatory systems based on robust

science and transparent approval processes• Facilitate transboundary movement of biotechnology

products through bilateral and regional arrangements including agreed biosafety information requirements and data acceptance

Recommendations: Priorities for action

Enhance awareness through education and communication:

• Develop educational tools, status reports and web- based information systems

• Include biotechnology and agriculture oriented courses in school syllabi

• Train scientists not just in the field of biotechnology but also on issues of agriculture and food security, environment safety and in communication skills

• Organize dialogues between scientists, CSOs, farmers organisations and consumer groups

Recommendations: Priorities for action

Strengthening linkages:• Regional linkages within the Asia-Pacific region;

south – south linkages; north – south linkages; public – private linkages; public – public linkages

• Draw on existing regional fora like APAARI, AARINENA, FARA and networks to develop linkages

• Conduct workshops to define available resources and needs, followed by mutually agreed work-plans

Fruit fly Eradication • Fruit flies are serious biosecurity threat to

Asian countries

• Fruit flies (Melon fly, Oriental fruit fly) eradication programmes using Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) have been successful in Japan (Okinawa islands), Philippines, Malaysia…

• Area-wide Integrated Pest Management (AW IPM) of Fruit flies in South-east and South Asia (Mekong River Basin countries- Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand and Myanmar)

Source: http://www.globalhort.org/

Established in 1990 at the initiative of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and most of the National Agricultural Research Systems

(NARS) of the Asia-Pacific region

Mission To promote agricultural research for development in the region through inter-

institutional partnership

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Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI)

NARS Members

New Caledonia

Fiji

• General Assembly• Executive Committee

Programs Networks

APARIS APCoAB

• Information sharing• Advocacy for ICT in ARD• Capacity building• Information integration

• Policy support• Capacity building• Information dissemination• Research networking

• Crops• Livestock• Fruits• Fiber• Aquaculture

Program Structure

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APAARI GoalsStrengthening NARS through:• Policy Advocacy• Support Human Resource

Development • Information Sharing• Support Research Networking

Biotechnology policy initiatives

Expert Consultation on Agricultural Biotechnology for Promoting Expert Consultation on Agricultural Biotechnology for Promoting Food Security in Developing CountriesFood Security in Developing Countries

Malaysia, 20Malaysia, 20--22 August 200822 August 2008

Expert Consultation on Biotechnology, Biosafety and Biosecurity

TARI, Taichung, Taiwan, 28-29 October, 2011

• Bt corn in the Philippines• Bt cotton in India• Potato micropropagation• Sugarcane micropropagation• Banana micropropagationStudies on: • Development and commercialization• Performance and farmer incomes• Issues and concerns• Opportunities and the way ahead

Assessing field level impact of Assessing field level impact of biotech productsbiotech products

Micropropagation for Quality Seed Micropropagation for Quality Seed Production in SugarcaneProduction in Sugarcane

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Comparative performance of conventional and micropropagation based seed production in sugarcane

Compilation on Biosafety Regulations of AsiaCompilation on Biosafety Regulations of Asia-- Pacific CountriesPacific Countries

• Biosafety and related acts, rules, regulations and guidelines of 39 countries.

• Key features of the regulations.• Status of national legislative preparedness with respect

to Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. • Additional chapters on status of biotechnology,

biosafety issues and international instruments on biosafety.

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Biosafety Regulations of Asia-Pacific countries

International Training Course on In Vitro and Cryopreservation Techniques for Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi

Training Course on Indexing and Production of Pathogen-Free Citrus Seedlings, 2008, National Taiwan University, Taipei

Training Course on Molecular Methodologies for Assessing and Applying Genetic Diversity in Crop Plants 2008, International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics, India

Training Course on Introductory Bioinformatics, 2008, Agricultural Genetics Research Institute, Egypt (AGERI)

Training Course on Bioassay of Pesticide Residues on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009, 2011 Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute, Taichung

Training Programs

International Training Course on In Vitro and Cryopreservation Techniques for Conservation of Plant

Genetic Resources NBPGR, Nov 2008

Training Course on Edible Mushroom Production for Asian Farmers and Entrepreneurs

21 – 27 November 2010

Network Meetings

Publications

Knowledge Sharing

APAARI Bi-annual Newsletter

Success Stories for TechnologyDissemination (> 40 Published)

Vision – 2025

Agricultural Research Prioritiesin the Asia-Pacific

Regional Status Reports

Reports of Expert Consultations

Directories of Institutions

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APAARI Newsletter

Conventional Biotechnologies for Conventional Biotechnologies for FarmersFarmers’’ BenefitBenefit

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Performance and Economic Impact of Performance and Economic Impact of GM Crops in the APGM Crops in the AP

ASIA-PACIFIC CONSORTIUM ON AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

(APCoAB)

COMMERCIALIZATION OF Bt CORN

IN THE PHILIPPINES

A STATUS REPORT

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Biosafety

APAARI on CD

CD – Directory of Agricultural Biotechnology Institutions of Asia-Pacific

APCoAB website

APCoAB website

APCoAB website

Please Visit: www.apaari.org www.apcoab.org

Thank you!Thank you!