Australia
September 30, 2013

The Agricultural Biotechnology Council of Australia (ABCA) met for the third time at Latrobe University’s AgriBioscience facility on 5 September 2013. ABCA co-patrons the Hon John Anderson AO, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia; and Professor Adrienne Clarke, former Chair of CSIRO and a leader of the Australian biotechnology industry, were both present to Chair the meeting. This meeting enabled the Council to identify key priorities for the agricultural biotechnology sector for the remainder of the calendar year.

New member
Council members welcomed GrainGrowers as the newest member of the Council.

Project pipeline discussions
Members agreed that it is vital that public policy is based on the best available science, and that it is a key role of the Council to ensure that public awareness, public policy and the regulatory environment is guided by scientifically credible and factually correct information regarding the full benefits that agricultural biotechnology offers to Australian farmers. Accordingly, the Council committed to supporting projects to better equip the sector in communicating the science behind agricultural biotechnology.

The role of the Council as a national coordinating group for the Australian agricultural biotechnology sector was reinforced at this meeting, with individual members presenting projects to be championed by the sector as a whole. This coming together of the sector to collaboratively fund projects of national importance is a significant achievement for the Council in its early days of operation.

The Council noted that research indicates there is a significant knowledge deficit among key decision makers about the established science on agricultural biotechnology, and agreed to support the Board to commission targeted projects that serve to address those knowledge gaps.

Quarterly update
Council members noted the immediate success and impact of the inaugural quarterly update and reiterated their support for ABCA’s vision that the current and potential benefits of agricultural biotechnology are fully recognised.

Farming the Future forums
The Council confirmed its dedication to providing the Australian farming sector with the most up-to-date, balanced, useful information on access, adoption and developments in the field of agricultural biotechnology through its endorsement of a series of Farming the Future Forums, to be held in 2013-14.

For more information on Council activities and broader information about the sector as a whole, visit ABCA's website - http://www.abca.com.au
 

Website: http://www.abca.com.au/

Published: September 30, 2013