When biofuels and biosecurity meet

“New agricultural non-food crops, especially those developed to meet the growing demand for biofuels and other renewable industrial needs in the 21st Century, will have to meet triple bottom line – people, planet, profit – criteria,” says CSIRO Entomology’s Dr Andy Sheppard.

“Sustainable management of pests in new crops and minimisation of any invasive threats these crops pose to the environment will be essential to their success.”

Dr Sheppard says the world needs safe production systems for new non-food crops and the symposium outcomes will help underpin scientific research and policy development into the future.

Topics to be discussed include:

• The global bioeconomy
• Benefits, environmental risks and biosecurity issues of biofuel crops
• Research and development opportunities for bioindustries
• National and international agricultural biosecurity policies.

The program brings together scientists from countries including: France, the US, Denmark, the UK, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand representing a diverse range of organisations including; government, universities, private groups, industry and CSIRO.

This CSIRO (Office of the Chief Executive) Cutting Edge Science Symposium is also supported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Cooperative Research Programme/Biological resource management for sustainable agricultural systems.

Media note:

Media are invited to attend the symposium Biosecurity in the New Bioeconomy and Dr Sheppard will be available for interview during the week of Tuesday 17 November.