Genetic resources are key to the development of Latin America and the Caribbean
San José, Costa Rica, November 21, 2011 (IICA). Latin America possesses the genetic resources to be the main food supplier worldwide, to develop crops that are resistant to drought or floods, and to create new businesses that contribute to the economy. But in order to achieve this, policies aimed at promoting biotechnology and biosecurity must be adopted.
These were the words of Pedro Rocha, Coordinator of the Biotechnology and Biosafety Area at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), during his presentation at the VIII International Symposium on Genetic Resources in Latin America and the Caribbean.
According to Rocha, “Seven of the seventeen mega-diverse countries in the world are located in the Americas, but this diversity is under-exploited in terms of environment, energy and social and economic development”.
The specialist reiterated the position of IICA to support the countries that require it, to develop regulatory and policy frameworks that will allow them to take advantage of the potential of their genetic resources.
From the point of view of food security, these resources are essential to guaranteeing food within small communities, those that have no access to products beyond those that they get from nature.
Additionally, genetic resources provide responses for adapting agriculture to climate change: “These will provide the genes that will help crops to adapt to conditions of extreme temperature, to new pests or to new diseases, which in turn will have a positive impact on food security”, stated the specialist.
Genetic resources may also be used to develop more diversified activities. The knowledge that has been generated in recent years may be used in the cosmetic industry, for example, as well as in other areas to achieve positive gains and economic development for the countries.
For this reason, institutional and policy frameworks must be developed that promote biotechnology as a tool to facilitate knowledge, use and strengthening of these resources. According to Rocha, “In addition to identifying genes for a specific use, biotechnology makes this utilization possible, which is essential to producing results”.
There are different international agreements, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, that are geared towards the use of genetic resources, and which have been ratified by many countries.
However, in many of these countries, there is no backing via national policies, and this impedes their implementation.
Given this situation, clear and applicable policies and mechanisms must be generated (or strengthened) with respect to genetic resources, biotechnology and biosecurity, in addition to support for the institutional framework, for example, for those agencies involved in research, promotion, financial support, among others, so that there can be functional and sustainable use of genetic resources.
Within this context, the regional networks of phytogenetic resources, the creation and operation of which are supported by IICA, are quite important to the strengthening of the institutional framework. These are, among others, REMERFI (Central America and South Eastern Mexico), NORGEN (Northern Region), REDARFIT (Andean Region), CAPGERNET (Caribbean Region), TROPIGEN (South American Tropics) and REGENSUR (Southern Region).
“We are faced with new challenges and realities that require innovative solutions. It is not merely a question of environmental factors, such as climate change, but also of new demands from consumers seeking products with specific characteristics relating to taste, nutritional value and environmental seal. Genetic resources are seen as the response to these challenges and IICA can be a great ally in this regard”, concluded Rocha.
For more information, contact:
pedro.rocha@iica.int