US wants biotech to help solve global food crisis

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WASHINGTON, June 15 (AFP): A senior US official urged countries to remove barriers to the use of biotechnology and other innovations that would increase food production at a time of crisis.

"We must address the policies and trade barriers that increase food prices by preventing access to food and to the best technologies available to produce food," Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said last Friday.

"In the long term, we believe sustainable food security will come from advances in science and technology and the creation of an efficient global market for both agriculture products and food production technologies," he said.

"We therefore are strongly encouraging countries to remove barriers to the use of innovative plant and animal production technologies, including biotechnology," Negroponte said.

"Biotechnology tools can help speed the development of crops with higher yields, higher nutrition value, better resistance to pests and diseases, and stronger food system resilience in the face of climate change," he said.