Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII) hosted Mr. Yerlan Baidaulet, Director General of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOSF) on May 10, 2022.

At the first step, Prof. Gholamreza Salehi Jouzani, Director General of ABRII, welcomed the delegation. Then, Prof. Maryam Hashemi, Deputy for Research had the opportunity to demonstrate the ABRII’s achievements during the visit of ABRII’s exhibition. The delegation visited the ABRII’s departments and the head of the departments introduced the ongoing projects of faculty members. During the meeting held after the visit to the laboratories, both parties expressed interest in expanding cooperation and discussed opportunities for new collaborations.

Mr. Yerlan Baidaulet expressed his eagerness to cooperate with ABRII specifically in the field of application of biotechnology and nanotechnology in food security. Prof. Salehi stated that the agriculture sector in the region faces different major problems, including low input efficiency (irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides, …), abiotic stresses (drought, salinity, cold, freezing), biotic stresses (pests, diseases, weeds), huge agricultural wastes causing significant negative impacts on total agricultural commodity production and the environment of the region. Unfortunately, conventional strategies are not enough to overcome these kinds of problems. Hence, the application of modern biotechnological strategies is necessary to enhance food production for growing demand and to ensure food security.

To facilitate the collaborative research in the field of biotechnology, especially in the IOFS member countries, and to assist the agricultural researchers in the member countries to apply biotechnology to meet their own national needs, Prof. Salehi proposed to establish the “Islamic Organization for Food Security-Agricultural Biotechnology Network (IOFS-ABN)". He stated: "ABRII will be ready to act as IOFS-ABN focal point."