As part of an overall strategy of enhancing interdisciplinarity within FAO, a number of priority areas for interdisciplinary action (PAIAs) were identified a few years ago.

One of these was biotechnology and a major role of the Biotechnology PAIA has been to provide factual, comprehensive and updated information about agricultural biotechnology.

This is done through, for example, the FAO Biotechnology website, the newsletter FAO-BiotechNews, and a series of e-mail conferences hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum. An evaluation of the Biotechnology PAIA took place at the end of 2005 where stakeholders were invited to fill out a questionnaire soliciting their views on the Biotechnology PAIA activities. In response, a total of 174 questionnaires were received, from over 60 different countries with over half of the questionnaires coming from people living in developing countries.

A 7-page summary of the survey results is now available at http://www.fao.org/biotech/docs/surveyfaopaia.pdf.

Results of the FAO Biotechnology PAIA Stakeholder Survey
FAO Working Group on Biotechnology
October 2006

SUMMARY

As part of an overall strategy of enhancing interdisciplinarity within the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), a number of Priority Areas for Interdisciplinary Action
(PAIAs) were identified a few years ago. One of these was biotechnology and a major role of the
Biotechnology PAIA has been to provide FAO Members and their institutions with factual,
comprehensive and current information on international developments relating to biotechnology
applications. An evaluation of the Biotechnology PAIA took place in December 2005 and January
2006 where stakeholders were invited to fill out a questionnaire soliciting their views on the
Biotechnology PAIA activities. A total of 174 questionnaires were received, from over 60 different
countries. Over half of the responses were from people living in developing countries. Results show
that biotechnology PAIA materials disseminated through the web or by e-mail were regularly
consulted whereas hardcopy materials were relatively little used. The survey indicates a high degree of satisfaction with the Biotechnology PAIA activities and products and the overall assessment of the information supplied by the PAIA was very positive, based on the criteria of usefulness, credibility, relevance to developing country needs, availability, comprehensibility and on it being science-based and up-to-date. Almost 30% of respondents said the Biotechnology PAIA information was their primary source (or mostly their primary source) of information on biotechnology. The majority (75%) of these were from developing countries. Over one third of respondents, most living in developing countries, thought the information had affected policy-making in their country.

7-page summary of the survey results: http://www.fao.org/biotech/docs/surveyfaopaia.pdf

To request a copy by e-mail, please contact biotech-admin@fao.org.