About us
The International Consortium of Agricultural Biotechnology Research, ICABR, is a unique, informal, international consortium of people interested in agricultural biotechnology research. Beginning in 1996, academicians, scientists, governmental and non-governmental organizations and industry representatives have gathered to exchange research results and ideas, discuss policy and explore approaches to biotechnological issues.
ICABR is formed by a core group of scholars and research institutions such as CEIS - University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Wageningen University, Katholieke University of Leuven, Leibniz University of Hannover, Rutgers University, Yale University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Missouri, University of Saskatchewan, who have conducted the conference continually since 1996.
The annual conference of the ICABR is one of the most prominent and important international exchanges of information about agricultural biotechnology. As developed and developing nations grapple with biotechnology issues, the ICABR Conference provides an important venue to ensure that perspectives from around the world are presented and considered. The Consortium provides a serious forum where research, innovation, risks and benefits and public acceptance are viewed from a global perspective. In this setting, participants from developed and developing nations engage in debate on biotechnology issues and exchange research results with one another. In addition, the best of the papers presented at these meetings have become the basis of a series of books which are part of the basic reference works used by scholars studying biotechnology.
The objectives of the Consortium are to:
- promote and stimulate improvement in the quality and relevance of international agricultural biotechnology research and policy analysis;
- hear the perspectives of many stakeholders (scientific community, policy-makers, international organizations, NGOs, agricultural producers and consumer groups) from the developing and developed world;
- encourage collaborative research among members of the Consortium;
- facilitate interaction among researchers and analysts in several countries, in universities and in government engaged in and/or interested in agricultural biotechnology research; and
- disseminate the research results and presentations to the broader community of academics and policy-makers to provide an empirical and theoretical basis for better biotechnology policies in the future.