Partners
PBS consortium members

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
IFPRI, part of the CGIAR system, is the premier policy research center focusing on the food problems of developing countries. The institute undertakes research on a wide range of polices related to agricultural marketing and international trade, food production and technology, and food consumption and nutrition. IFPRI is the lead implementing agency for PBS and contributes to the policy component by helping evaluate biosafety systems appropriate for low-income countries.

Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (DDPSC)
The not-for-profit Danforth Center employs consultative capacities to assist in the development of regulatory packages. Scientists at the Center extend technical assistance to R&D partners from Africa and Asia for guiding biosafety data required for approvals for field trials and commercial releases. Danforth Center expertise is available in biosafety laboratory work, institutional biosafety procedures, and containment facilities. Danforth scientists have both private company and public institution experience in generating data for biosafety regulators.

Michigan State University (MSU)
Michigan State University is recognized as a center of excellence in international agricultural developnt, and since the 1950s has been home to hundreds of successful training, research, and outreach programs throughout the world and in cooperation with a great diversity of funding agencies. MSU has a proven track record in capacity building in the area of agricultural biotechnology research and policy, specifically intellectual property rights and biosafety.

Calvin College
 Cavin College's Biology Department and International Development Studies Program will contribute to the PBS program by providing technical assistance to regulators as they develop strategies for approval of specific technologies in participating countries primarily in the area of data requirements, and advise developers as to regulatory requirements from regulatory agencies. The principal collaborator at Calvin College has experience in preparing biotechnology regulatory packages for commercialization, consulting with developers of transgenic crops in the area of regulatory compliance during product development, and generating ecological risk assessment data for commercialization of transgenic crops. The Biology Department faculty will provide resources and expertise in biological applications in the context of international development.

Collaborative national partners in Asia and Africa

PBS targets two geographic areas for concentration: Asia and Africa. Collaborative activities in specific Asian and African countries have involved the following partner institutes:

Philippines
Indonesia
East Africa
West Africa
Southern Africa
Regional collaborative partners

Regional partner organizations are closely involved in development and implementation of PBS. Over time, regional and national organizations are expected to assume increasing responsibility for program activities. Initially, partnerships with regional organizations will facilitate policy development, capacity building, and outreach activities. Regional partners include:

  • African Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum (ABSF):
    ABSF aims to create an enabling environment in which African countries can participate and benefit from biotechnology in a responsible and sustainable manner. Through the dissemination of information, ABSF promotes understanding and awareness of all aspects of biotechnology including biosafety.
  • Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA):
    ASARECA is a non-political organization of the national agricultural research organizations of ten countries in East and Central Africa. It aims to increase the efficiency of agricultural research in the region to facilitate economic growth, food security and export competitiveness through agriculture. ASARECA carries out its activities through regional research networks and projects. A recent initiative was launched to build capacity in biotechnology and biosafety in member organizations and countries.
  • The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA):
    The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is the largest regional economic grouping in Africa with 20 member states. COMESA was established in 1994 as the successor of the Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern Africa (PTA), which came into existence in 1981. Today COMESA is a well-established regional organisation in Eastern and Southern Africa. Specialised institutions are supporting its mandate to bolster and promote trade and investments throughout the region and beyond.
  • ISAAA AfriCenter:
    The ISAAA AfriCenter was established in 1994 in Kenya. It actively supports technology transfer projects such as: the introduction and farm-level evaluation of new biotechnologies for banana, fast growing multi-purpose trees, and sweet potato. These projects are conducted in partnership with the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), farmer cooperatives, local private companies, and collaborators in Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. In addition, the ISAAA AfriCenter has an active program on information dissemination on agricultural biotechnology and biosafety.
  • Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network(FANRPAN):
    FANRPAN's mission is to co-ordinate, influence and facilitate policy research, analysis and dialogue at the national, regional and global levels in order to develop the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources sector through networking, capacity building and generation of information for the benefit of all stakeholders in the SADC region. In recent years, FANRPAN has worked with IFPRI on policy issues related to biotechnology and biosafety.
  • East Africa Research Network on Biotechnology, Biosafety and Biotechnology Policy (BIO-EARN):
    The mission of the BIO-EARN program is to build capacity in biotechnology in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and to promote research and related policies. The program aims to use biotechnology in a sustainable manner in order to help improve livelihoods, ensure food security, and safeguard the environment. BIO-EARN, supported by the Stockholm Environment Institute and funded by the Government of Sweden, has been instrumental in enhancing biosafety capacities in its four partner countries, through a wide range of activities including policy workshops, technical training in risk assessment and management, and sponsoring risk assessment research.
International programs and research centers

Working with relevant partner programs and International Agricultural Research Centers (IARCs) in the implementation of the PBS program is essential. The IARCs have a strong track record in supporting the development of host-country biosafety regulations, and research and capacity-building activities in biotechnology and biosafety. Increasingly, they are involved in developing, field-testing and environmental risk assessments for genetically modified crops, representing an invaluable source of experience for PBS.

  • Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSPII, Cornell University):
    The developing world can benefit from advances in biotechnology, but much needs to be done to make bio-engineered products available in forms that farmers can use. Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSPII) believes that farmers and consumers worldwide should have the opportunity to make informed choices about using bio-engineered products. The ABSPII consortium supports the development of expertise in our target countries in the areas of research, policy development, licensing, and outreach, to help reduce poverty and hunger through agricultural biotechnology.
  • International Rice Research Institute (IRRI, The Philippines):
    IRRI has long experience in the development and sharing of transgenic rice lines, training in GM technology and associated biosafety considerations. The institute supported the development and adoption of biosafety guidelines in its host country. Close working relations with national partners have evolved through IRRI's Asian Rice Biotechnology Network (ARBN), Irrigated Rice Consortium (IRC), and Consortium on Unfavorable Rice Environments (CURE) and International Network on Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER). ARBN was established by IRRI to provide a vehicle for collaborative research in rice biotechnology with universities and rice breeding institutes. The center has field-tested transgenic rice lines for resistance to stemborer and bacterial blight in collaboration with partners in Philippines, India and China.
  • International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT, India):
    ICRISAT's research involves the development of transgenic lines of its mandate crops, specifically groundnut, sorghum, chickpea and pigeonpea. ICRISAT's biotechnology research is carried out under the supervision of the Institute Biosafety Committee that is composed of its own scientists, and nominees of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. In its pursuit of maintaining high standards of biosafety, ICRISAT has recently commissioned a containment facility for screening of transgenic plants. The Center recently completed a pilot study to model gene flow and assess possible risks to traditional landraces in the event of introduction of transgenic pigeonpea.
  • West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA, Ivory Coast):
    WARDA has an active research and outreach program in West Africa to support its mission to strengthen Sub-Saharan Africa's capability for technology generation, technology transfer and policy formulation, in order to increase the sustainable productivity of rice-based cropping systems. Flagship among the technologies it helped develop is the "New Rice for Africa," or NERICA. In 1995, WARDA hosted a regional biosafety workshop and since then has supported regulatory developments in its member countries.
  • International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA, Nigeria):
    IITA has strong collaborations in the area of biotechnology and biosafety with regional organizations in sub-Sahara Africa such as ASARECA and CORAF. The institute has hosted a range of policy and technical workshops on biotechnology and biosafety. IITA is actively involved in the development of transgenic cowpea, plantain and cassava lines.