San Juan, Puerto Rico – Over a dozen international and local speakers gathered at the 9th Convention of the Puerto Rico Agricultural Biotechnology Industry Association (PRABIA), the summit forum for this industry on the Island. The three-day event served as a platform for the exchange of new knowledge and proposals, exposing the latest in related technologies and making known the plans under development to address pressing issues such as food security, famine and nutritional value of food, among others.
The convention opened with a round table, where the future impact of the agricultural biotechnology sector in Puerto Rico was discussed. The academic sector participated in this forum, represented by Raúl E. Macchiavelli, Dean of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, and Alma L. Santiago, Dean of Sciences of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ponce, where they highlighted the importance of the union between academia and industry. On the other hand, the Secretary of Agriculture, Myrna Comas commented that “this sector is highly regulated and PRABIA companies are in full compliance. Through the technology provided by the industry and the companies that make it up, we have rescued lands with high potential for agricultural development.”
According to Beatriz Carrión, executive director of PRABIA, “this convention highlighted the importance of the agricultural biotechnology industry, both here and abroad, and validated the scope of the role that Puerto Rico has in it. In addition to exploring the activities that our industry is undertaking to promote research, development, and best practices to meet the food needs of humanity, this convention also highlighted that this industry generates jobs and economic activity in Puerto Rico, and is instrumental in strengthening a diversified and knowledge-based economy, which is one of the pillars of the country’s economic development plan”.
A large group of speakers from various countries took advantage of the Convention to share with their colleagues the latest advances being made. For example, agronomist Leandro Manoel María, technical promoter for Africa, North and Central America, Eastern Europe, Asia and Oceania for the company BALDAN, gave a talk on field preparation techniques and their application to the soils of Puerto Rico. . Elaine Daly, from the Agricultural Field Applications Engineering department at Trimble Navigation, discussed all the new things that are happening in the soil information system area.
For his part, Puerto Rican hydrologist Angel Román-Más touched on the needless crisis in southern aquifers, while Dr. Leandro Perugini, PhD, a researcher at DuPont Pioneer, spoke about the new CRISPR-Cas 9 technology, which It helps in the reproduction of crops more efficiently and sustainably. Guilherme Trivellato, of the Oxitec company in Brazil, explored the idea of transgenic mosquitoes to help in the war against the Zika virus. Dr. Bond McInnes, PhD, of DuPont Crop Protection, discussed best practices for managing crop diseases.
Other conferences held during the Convention included topics such as the development of crops resistant to pests and insecticides, more efficient and sustainable irrigation systems, agricultural worker protection regulations, and others.
The PRABIA Convention is one of the most prestigious worldwide and, as an event, helps to highlight that investment in agricultural biotechnology is essential to continue creating jobs, attracting capital and strengthening the role of Puerto Rico on the international stage, and thus create a multiplier effect in the economy. It is here where conversations are initiated or advanced to show the advantages of Puerto Rico as a suitable destination for investment and development in this area. Among them, the highly qualified human resources, a solid infrastructure, incentive programs, and the support of both local and federal government entities stand out.
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About PRABIA
Founded in 1995, the Puerto Rico Agricultural Biotechnology Industry Association, for its acronym in English, PRABIA, is a non-profit organization that brings together agricultural biotechnology companies that operate in Puerto Rico – AgReliant Genetics, Bayer, Dow AgroSciences, Syngenta , Illinois Crop Improvement, Monsanto del Caribe and DuPont Pioneer. The Association aims to strengthen the agricultural biotechnology ecosystem on the Island in light of the challenges of global food production. The operations of the companies that are part of PRABIA promote economic development by generating over 3,000 direct and indirect jobs, promoting education, supporting communities, providing support to the academic community and establishing programs aimed at future scientists and agronomists.
For more information about PRABIA, visit www.prabia.org or the official Facebook page at http://bit.ly/2dva988