Takeaways from Our Three-Part APEC HLPDAB Workshop on Plant, Animal, and Microbial Biotechnology

AFSI Newsletter - September 2026

Regulatory divergence across the Asia-Pacific raises the cost of bringing agricultural biotechnology products to market and slows their movement in trade. With support from a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS), the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute (AFSI) convened “Effective Regulatory Approaches for Plant, Animal, and Microbial Biotechnology,” a three-part, by-invitation-only virtual workshop for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (APEC HLPDAB) on August 3-11, 2026. Building on the Policy Approaches Document—a white paper on advancing regional cooperation on agricultural biotechnology regulation—each discussion session took up one technology area: plant, microbial, and animal biotechnology. Held in the lead-up to the 2026 HLPDAB plenary, the three discussion sessions gave nominated scientists and regulators a forum to discuss increasing regulatory coordination and streamlining approval processes across the APEC region.

Event Page

Plant Biotechnology in Practice

The first discussion session set out to identify the practical obstacles economies face in bringing plant biotechnology products to market, and to ask where APEC can support greater regulatory cohesion. A recently authorized product anchored the conversation: researchers presented on the high-zinc and high-iron rice approved in the Philippines, and a Philippine regulator described the framework that governs plant biotechnology products there. Looking ahead, a researcher from India discussed the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to design genome editing experiments in rice and what that raises for future regulatory consideration.

Microbial Biotechnology in Focus

Genetically engineered (GE) microbes raise scientific and regulatory questions that do not map cleanly onto plant or animal biotechnology. The second discussion session opened with AFSI setting out problem formulation for GE microbes for use in food and agriculture. Regulators from Singapore and Peru then set out how their member economies are approaching this category of products. Speakers from industry then delivered presentations on engineering microbes to produce cost-effective and sustainable fertilizer, and on partnering with developers to navigate the regulatory landscape.

Animal Biotechnology Milestones

In the final discussion session, an industry speaker delivered a presentation on the regulatory approval of gene edited pigs—a notable step in bringing an animal biotechnology product to market. Member economy updates laid out the regulatory context, with Thailand presenting its 2024 policy on the certification of organisms developed from genome editing technology for agricultural use and the United States describing its oversight of intentional genomic alterations in animals. A researcher primed the panel discussion with a presentation on gene editing in livestock.

Because attendance was by nomination through APEC HLPDAB representatives, the sessions brought together the people who write and apply the rules alongside those developing the products. Regulators from national agencies, scientists from public research institutes and universities, and representatives of technology developers were among the 196 participants across the three discussion sessions. This mix allowed economy updates to be discussed in the same room as case studies from the companies bringing products forward. The discussions in these three sessions fed directly into the conversations member economies continued at the 2026 HLPDAB plenary on August 20, 2026 in China, where the cooperation set out in the Policy Approaches Document remains a shared objective. AFSI would like to take this opportunity to thank the speakers, HLPDAB representatives, and participants for making this three-part workshop a success.

Policy Approaches Document

Synthetic Biology for Biodiversity: Policy, Practice and Implementation

Our CEO, Dr. Andrew Roberts, will speak in the second session of a two-part webinar series co-hosted by the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research and the GeneConvene Global Collaborative to support preparations for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP 17/CP-MOP 12. The first session, focused on the synthetic biology thematic action plan, takes place on Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Dr. Roberts joins the second, focused on gene drive risk assessment, on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. Both sessions run 15:00-17:00 CET.

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