FOREWORD

The emergence of agricultural biotechnology as a major investment area is propelling new growth of companies worldwide. Several major players in the food and seed industries are employing biotechnology as the core of their business. Some of these companies pioneered the use of biotechnology in the development of grain and oil seeds, while others started their businesses by applying advanced biotechnology to nonfood products such as cotton and ornamental plants. Others took more traditional biotechnology approaches in the brewing and fermentation of food products and beverages. Biotechnology is providing a means to meet increasing consumer demand for more varied and higher quality products.

Despite recent advances, biotechnology still has enormous potential to create additional changes in agriculture. In many countries in the Asia and Pacific region, its application is still in the nascent stage and its benefits have not yet reached the majority of the population. In many cases, R&D outputs are still not reaching the commercialization stage, for varied reasons, and hence their full potential benefits to farmers and consumers in general remain untapped. Some consumers’ and environmentalists’ concerns related to food safety and the environmental ramifications of biotechnology are affecting its wider commercial applications and heightening the uncertainty surrounding its use.

The APO therefore organized a multi-country study mission on “Business Potential for Agricultural Biotechnology Products” to review the topic and identify how private companies, especially SMEs and including the government corporate sector, could capitalize on that potential in member countries to increase productivity in the agriculture sector. This volume is a compilation of the papers and proceedings of the study mission. I hope that it will serve as a useful reference on the subject in APO member countries and elsewhere.

The APO is grateful to the Government of the Republic of China for hosting the mission and to the China Productivity Center, Taiwan Agriculture Research Institute, and Council of Agriculture of the Executive Yuan for implementing the program. Special thanks are due to Dr. Paul S. Teng for editing the present volume.

Shigeo Takenaka
Secretary-General
Tokyo, February 2007