Data Transportability – Sharing Field Trial Data Across Geographies

All major stages of plant breeding require field evaluation of new genotypes and multi-location field trials are routinely used to help breeders select the most promising varieties or hybrids.  Field trials are also essential for other pre-commercial activities like variety registration, Plant Breeders Rights trials, and confined field trials for genetically engineered crops, all of which are subject to some kind of governmental oversight.  It’s a very common practice for regulators to require such trials on a country-by-country basis, with the operating assumption being that every agro-ecosystem where these plants will be grown is unique and so new data must be generated accordingly.  This brown bag lunch, organized by the World Bank and the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute, challenged that assumption with a novel approach that should help breeders (and regulators) strategically identify trial site locations in support of “data transportability” across geographies.

Program

• Welcome Lunch and Introductions: Michael Morris, Lead Agricultural Economist, GFADR
• Transportability of Data Generated for Safety Evaluations of GM Crops: Monica Garcia-Alonso, Ph.D., Estel Consult Ltd
• Potential Applications of Peer Reviewed Zonation Schemes for Identifying Similarities and Differences between Agricultural Settings: Paul Hendley, Ph.D., Phasera Ltd.
• Discussants: Jeff Stein, Biosafety Adviser, Program for Biosafety Systems and Melissa Brown, Senior Economist, GFADR