AFSI Newsletter - July 2024

Our Recent Environmental Risk Assessment Workshop on Non-Target Organism Testing

Supported by a grant from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Emerging Markets Program (EMP), the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute, in cooperation with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Iowa State University, and Corteva Agriscience, organized a technical training on non-target organism testing of transgenic crops on June 24-28, 2024. This by-invitation-only training activity provided regulatory scientists and environmental risk assessors with an experiential learning opportunity in laboratory and field testing of non-target organisms. Eight participants from the USA, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Kenya joined expert faculty and AFSI staff in Ames, Iowa, to take part in this five-day workshop.

About the Event

Strengthening Foundations

The first day of the workshop started with talks on the history and context of risk assessment for agricultural biotechnology, the concepts of problem formulation and protection goals, and the modern environmental risk assessment (ERA) paradigm for genetically engineered (GE) plants. These talks were followed by an introduction to tiered testing and non-target field studies. Then, participants spent time in the laboratory, setting up a series of bioassays for evaluation at the end of the training.

Putting Theory into Practice

During the practical sessions on the following days, participants were instructed on how to set up pitfall traps at a working farm. Later in the week, they collected, processed, and identified these samples in a laboratory. A laboratory and field tour at Corteva Agriscience on the fourth day allowed them to observe the practical application of concepts and techniques covered during the technical training.

Discussions & Presentations

On the workshop's final day, participants were separated into groups to compare their bioassay results and discuss how to interpret the laboratory data they collected on previous days. Following concluding lectures on insect resistance management and data transportability, they delivered presentations on key learnings from the technical training and how these could be applied.

The AFSI team would like to congratulate all participants on completing the program and thank our co-organizers and speakers for making this training successful. More information about workshop attendees is available at the link below.

Participant and Speaker Bios
 
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