Washington, DC
July 9, 2008
The G8 leaders, meeting in
Hokkaido, Japan at their annual summit, agreed to work to
increase global agricultural yields by providing farmers with
greater access to seed varieties developed through
biotechnology.
In its statement on Global Food Security, the G8 leaders said
that as part of their efforts to address food security and
poverty, they would "accelerate research and development and
increase access to new agricultural technologies to boost
agricultural production," and "promote science-based risk
analysis including on the contribution of seed varieties
developed through biotechnology."
The G8 leaders also agreed to form a global partnership on
agriculture and food, which would include the governments of
developing countries, the private sector, civil society groups,
international donors, and multilateral institutions. "This
partnership, strengthening and building on existing UN and other
international institutions, could provide efficient and
effective support for country-led processes and institutions and
for local leadership, draw on the expertise in existing
international organizations and, in particular, ensure
monitoring and assessment on progress. The UN should facilitate
and provide coordination. As part of this partnership, a global
network of high-level experts on food and agriculture would
provide science-based analysis, and highlight needs and future
risks."
The G8 leaders also agreed to "ensure the compatibility of
policies for the sustainable production and use of biofuels with
food security and accelerate development and commercialization
of sustainable second-generation biofuels from non-food plant
materials and inedible biomass; in this regard, we will work
together with other relevant stakeholders to develop
science-based benchmarks and indicators for biofuel production
and use."
The G-8 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Russia, United States and the United Kingdom.
The Council for
Biotechnology Information communicates science-based
information about the benefits and safety of agricultural
biotechnology and its contributions to sustainable development.
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