Biotechnology: Several developing countries now have well-developed programs

FAO news story

"Several developing countries now have well-developed biotechnology programmes; they are approaching the leading edge of biotechnology applications and have significant research capacity, according to a new FAO assessment on the status of research and application of crop biotechnologies in developing countries.

"Based on a review of the information in the FAO database on Biotechnology in Developing Countries (FAO-BioDeC), which covers both genetically modified (GM) crops and non-GM biotechnologies, the assessment suggests that developing countries will soon have new GM crops available such as virus-resistant papaya, sweet potato and cassava as well as rice tolerant to abiotic stresses (salinity and drought)."

The FAO Agricultural Biotechnology website.