A symposium entitled “Science, Agriculture and Climate Crisis”, which highlighted the role of plant biotechnology in adapting agriculture to its biggest challenge

One of the issues that attracted agreement at the conference was the need to unite efforts regarding the dissemination of the benefits of plant biotechnology and the improvement of the regulatory aspects of its use in our country.

“Science is a great ally in reaching agreements on possible ways to combat the effects of climate change.” phrase from Carolina UrmenitaAnd Head of the Climate Change Office at the Ministry of Environment, summarizes the consensus among the speakers and speakers at the symposium “Science, Agriculture and Climate Crisis”, regarding the role that appropriate dissemination and linkage by the scientific world can play, to inform authorities, decision-makers and public opinion in general, of the potential that biotechnology can have, in the context of plant genetic improvement, as one of the options for addressing the challenges posed by climate change to agriculture Today.

Greetings from Alvaro Izaguirre, Executive Director of the Foundation for Agricultural Innovation, FIA, of the Ministry of AgricultureInitiated a symposium organized by ChileBio in which prominent national and international scholars and publishers participated, demonstrating various advances in Biotechnology for better food. Eyzaguirre commented: “Science and agriculture must work together to make it more effective. This discipline – plant biotechnology – can be a strategic ally in the production of staple foods”, commented. “It is important for scientific communication to raise debate about the benefits of using these tools, especially when climate change is showing its effects,” he added.

In this international symposium, the participation of the famous and famous scientist came to the fore. José Miguel Mollet, Chemistry Graduate and Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of ValenciaProfessor, Department of Biotechnology at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. He published a series of books and several articles in the press. He also highlighted the post Gabriel LyonAnd Chilean scientist, biochemist and physician in cell and molecular biology. A science communicator and author of popular science books such as “Pop Science”, “What are snot? And Other Weird Questions I Sometimes Ask”, among others.

Subsequently, a panel discussion was developed to which he joined Carolina Urmenita, Head of Climate Change Office at the Ministry of Environment and Francesca Castillo, Academician at Austral University in Chile and member of Agrupación por la Biotecnología y la Sostenibilidad Agroalimentaria (ABSA Chile), An exciting exchange of ideas, reflections and experiences on the role of plant biotechnology has developed.

Speakers have commented extensively on the difficulty of getting the message across from science that turns to evidence, in a world where emotion and shock seem to have more access to public opinion. Besides, they stressed the need for progress in Chile in organizing that allows us to use developments in the genetic improvement of vegetables in our cultivation, and to reach commercial stages, where today there is still an important crossroads.

CEO of ChileBIOAnd Miguel Angel Sanchez, He commented on the outcome of this meeting: “It was a symposium that addressed the topics necessary to understand, discuss and look to the future regarding plant biotechnology. Both of them are of the necessity of communicating about the role of the various tools they possess, through misinformation and ignorance of their benefits. Climate change is here to stay, and the challenge of food production will increase to pursue Food security pathway. The development of plant varieties that are better adapted to climatic challenges, such as drought and heat tolerance and resistance to certain pests and diseases is a reality in the scientific world,” he says.

One of the issues that attracted agreement at the conference was the need to unite efforts regarding the dissemination of the benefits of plant biotechnology and the improvement of the regulatory aspects of its use in our country. Sanchez concludes, “There is a consensus in the scientific world about all the attributes of the different tools that biotechnology gives us, but there is an opinion of the public that views them with suspicion.”. Gabriel Leon added: “There is a schizophrenia between science and public opinion and this feeling has a very big impact.”

Committee members agreed on the regulatory aspects that Chile needed to resolve in order for biotechnology solutions to be available for local production. On his part, he commented, “Valuing biotechnology and making it available to small farmers is a viable path, in addition to creating an institutional framework that supports it.” Dr. Francesca Castillo, researcher at the University of Austral and a spokesperson for the Association for Biotechnology and Food Sustainability (ABSA-Chile) who also stressed that “there has to be a political will to sit down and discuss biotechnology, because it’s not all about genetics.”