The symposium on July 29 shared new developments and emphasized the role of youth in science, with 16 early career researchers and developers from 13 APEC economies presenting lightning talks on their agricultural biotechnology research. The event emphasized the role of early career scientists in driving innovation for sustainable agriculture and food systems.

At the symposium, Lawrence Kent from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation delivered the keynote on agricultural biotechnology in the developing world. During the panel discussions, representatives from start-ups Pairwise, Okanagan Specialty Fruits, and Sanatech Seeds shared their experiences on taking their research to market, and established industry professionals from Bioceres Crop Solutions, Corteva Agriscience, and ToolGen Inc. talked about creating enabling policy environments for adoption, use, and trade.

The subsequent two-day workshop on July 30-31 continued the tradition of working together across APEC economies to identify regulatory and policy solutions for science-based and risk-proportionate oversight of agricultural biotechnologies. Through expert talks and guided exercises, participants explored the potential impacts of regulatory redundancies and ways to help streamline agricultural biotechnology product approvals.

The workshop featured talks about success stories in regulatory harmonization, knowledge-sharing initiatives, and existing guidance, interspersed with Q&A opportunities and breakout groups. The event concluded with a discussion on the feasibility of developing a “Policy Approaches Document” to promote regulatory efficiencies and sustained information sharing to help streamline agricultural biotechnology product approvals and facilitate trade.