.

Source: Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp) 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Goals and Strategies for the Sector
  • The Malaysian Biotechnology Policy
  • The 9th Malaysia Plan
• The Global Agricultural Biotechnology Market
• Malaysian Agriculture: Over the years and today
  • Malaysian Agricultural Biotechnology Focus Areas
  • Focus Sector Overview 1: Crops
  • Focus Sector Overview 2: Natural Products
  • Focus Sector Overview 3: Lifestock
  • Focus Sector Overview 4: Marine & Aquaculture
• Key Opportunities
• Research & Development for Agricultural Biotechnology
• Example of a Key R&D Centre
  • Key Success Factors
  • Biodiversity
  • Designated Economic Corridors
  • BioNexus
  • Government Incentives
  • Human Capital
  • Funding
• Conclusion
• References

INTRODUCTION

Biotechnology has many applications in agriculture, including diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics for
animal health; DNA fingerprinting for managing animal stocks and identifying specific plant varieties, animal
and plant propagation; and the use of marker assisted selection, intragenics and genetic modification (GM) to
develop improved plant and animal varieties.

The term agricultural biotechnology encompasses a variety of technologies used in food and agriculture, for a range of different purposes such as the genetic improvement of plant varieties and animal; genetic characterization and conservation of genetic resources; plant or animal disease diagnosis; vaccine development; and improvement of feeds (FAO,2009a). Some of these technologies may be applied to all the food and agricultural sectors, such as the use of molecular markers or genetic modification, while others are more sector-specific, such as tissue culture (in transgenic crops and forest trees), embryo transfer (livestock) or sex-reversal (fish).

As we face global population growth, increased competition for land and water resources from industrial and
urban growth, climate change, and the need to protect the environment, solutions are needed to increase agricultural productivity to combat hunger and poverty. Agricultural biotechnology offers an important tool, which along with traditional breeding, new technologies, and improved resource management can enhance crop, livestock, and aquaculture productivity. This increases agricultural production in an environmentally sustainable way by reducing excess pesticide and fertilizer use that are threats to biodiversity and health, developing new crop varieties that are resistant to plant diseases and pests and climate changes, and enabling better livestock
disease diagnosis and the development of more effective livestock vaccines among others.1 (Source: USAID)

Malaysia has a strong foundation for agricultural biotechnology, with it being the third engine of growth for Malaysia after the manufacturing and services sectors. Being the world leader in the production of several industrial crops, like oil palm, rubber, cocoa, pepper and tropical timber, Malaysia has a strong agriculture base. This coupled with her rich biodiversity and strong Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, puts Malaysia in an advantageous position to drive forward in its goal of biotechnology as the
next platform for economic growth for the country.

Further emphasizing its importance in the Malaysian economy, agriculture provides employment for up to 40% of
Malaysia’s population. It is projected in the 9th Malaysia Plan that 220,000 new jobs will be created annually; of
which 44,000 will be graduates who will be attracted to agriculture jobs. The career prospects of agriculture includes employment in the industries related to food, environmental control, waste-treatment and manufacturing.

Key research areas for the agriculture sector are agricultural genomics, tissue culture technology, livestock farming, animal health and nutrition, bio-pesticides and bio-fertilizers, extraction of metabolites and nutritionally enhanced agriculture products. The science is in place in local research organizations, local research universities and in private biotech companies, and there is no lack of research publications.

This is also to boost the level of commercialization within the industry, which has hence-far been limited. While there are companies emerging in this space, and it is one of the highest potential areas for biotechnology growth for the country, international partnering is going to be one of the key areas for future growth.

http://www.biotechcorp.com.my/pdf/final%20agricultural%20cover%20and%20inside.pdf

BiotechCorp is an agency under the purview of Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and is wholly-owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated. BiotechCorp is governed by the Biotechnology Implementation Council and advised by the Biotechnology International Advisory Panel, both chaired by the honorable Prime Minister of Malaysia.

The objective of the establishment of BiotechCorp amongst others is to identify value propositions in both R&D and commerce and support these ventures via financial assistance and developmental services.

The news item on this page is copyright by the organization where it originated - Fair use notice

.