OUTPUT 2: METHODS TO GENTETICALLY MODIFY CROPS.
Whilst there has been much recent controversy about genetically miodified crops, the PSP's approach is that genetic modification of crops, when employed within the framework of biosafety regulations, can offer considerable benefits to the environment and to the livelihoods of the poor in developing countries.
Projects have been selected with minimal risk to the environment, that have large potential environmental benefits and solve constraints important to the livelihoods of resource poor farmers. One example is PSP's work on nematode resistance. Overall PSP's research in Output 2 has produced a considerable amount of new knowledge that will, almost certainly, be used to produce cultivated, nematode-resistant transgenics in the years to come. It seems likely that as more developing countries cultivate transgenic crops (see ISAAA Briefs) and as more data emerge on their environmental and financial benefits then the transgenic technology of nematode resistance will be adopted by developing countries.
In 2002, the PSP consolidated all its transgenic work into a single project that now includes the transformation of potatoes, bananas and rice. This was done for greater flexibility between crops so the project could respond to changes in scientific progress as well as changes in the situation regarding uptake pathways.
PSP AT A GLANCE
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