Denpasar, Indonesia — Dr. Khaoula Belhaj‑Fragnière, ISF Director of Innovation, Trade & Market Access, joined the second Asia and Pacific Seed Alliance (APSA) flagship Plant Breeding Innovation (PBI) Consultation, held 21-23 April.
Dr. Belhaj‑Fragnière delivered a keynote address, providing a global perspective on the evolving regulatory and policy landscape for genome editing, and highlighting emerging trends, current challenges, and opportunities ahead.
The consultation brought together policymakers, researchers, and seed industry leaders from 14 countries across the Asia‑Pacific region. Discussions focused on how modern plant breeding tools—particularly genome editing—can effectively move from the laboratory to farmers’ fields and consumer markets ensuring safety, practicality, and public trust. Notably, this year’s consultation moved beyond assessing where countries stand on PBI regulations to examining how innovation is being implemented in practice.
On the margins of the event, Khaoula joined the APSA delegation, led by APSA President Mr. Teck Wah Koh and Executive Director Ms. Francine Sayoc, and, in a meeting with delegations from the Indonesian government from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environment, the Indonesian Food & Drug Authority (FDA), and the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN). Discussions centered on the status of regulatory frameworks for plant breeding innovation in Indonesia across food, feed, and environmental applications, as well as potential areas for future collaboration.
Overall, ISF’s engagement in these high‑level exchanges plays a critical role in fostering international regulatory coherence, strengthening commitments to innovation, supporting global food security, and facilitating trade.#
