The Minister of Agriculture of Chile, Luis Mayol chaired the first working session of the Council of the National Seed Bank Network, comprised of networks from the Services of the Ministry, including the Center for Research of Natural Resources (CIREN), Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA), the Forestry Institute (INFOR), the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF), the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) and the Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies (PASO) that will work together with the centers belonging to the Universidad de Chile, Universidad Austral, the Chagual Botanical Garden and Wines of Chile.
The aim of this network is to articulate the public and private germplasm banks existing in the country by facilitating a collaborative work among peers to bring transparency to the society, especially the scientific community, giving information about genetic resources contained in the various participating banks of this network, and facilitate the transfer of these to defining a policy that regulates access to genetic resources conserved.
The Minister Luis Mayol highlighted the chance to advance and promote agriculture through better research. “Our projection is that the national agricultural innovation is encouraged, as by making available these resources, public and private investment required to use have less associated risks, which will capital flow to research and development of new products and technologies, allowing us to achieve the goal of becoming a Power Agri”, said Mayol.
At the first meeting, it was unanimously agreed the Rules of access to information and genetic material contained in this network that will governing this public-private entity, and provide confidence to users of the system.
Source: CIREN
