Concluding remarks

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The impact of biotechnology is already being felt in the fields of agriculture, forestry and fisheries. New techniques and products with the potential to contribute to increased and sustained productivity, superior product quality, reduced use of pesticides and other agrochemicals, or improved conservation and use of genetic resources and other natural resources are appearing.

Certain trends, such as the strengthening of the intellectual property right system, substitution of developing countries' exports, increased genetic erosion in the field, and the wide gap between the developing and developed countries in biotechnological research and development capabilities, are matters of concern, not only for developing countries, but for the world as a whole.

FAO is called upon by the Member Nations to secure for them the benefits that can be derived from the sound application of biotechnologies. It should monitor and realistically assess the positive and negative potential of the various technologies and alert Member Nations accordingly. FAO will continue to provide a neutral forum for discussing controversial issues such as intellectual property protection and to develop codes and guidelines for safe, environmentally sound, and the quotable use of biotechnology.

The Organization will intensify its support to developing countries in strengthening their policies, priority-setting mechanisms, and research and personnel capabilities, enabling them to choose if and when biotechnology is appropriate to solve problems they are facing in the integrated development of their food and farming systems. It will strengthen its support to "orphan" commodities and areas that are of high socio-economic value to resource-poor farmers and consumers, and will serve as an intermediary between technology developers and users. FAO will establish and foster links with other concerned UN agencies and with CGIAR institutes, and promote cooperation among developing and developed countries for harnessing modern biotechnologies in a balanced fashion.

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