SciDev.Net

Launched in 2003, AGORA provides free or subsidised journal access to not-for-profit institutions in eligible countries. Once details are finalised, all institutions in countries with a GNP per capita under US$1,000 will be given access to participating literature. The journal collection focuses on agriculture and related sciences, and includes titles from major publishing houses. AGORA is an FAO initiative. Click here for more details about registering.

AfricanCrops.Net — funded by the Rockefeller Foundations Biotechnology, Breeding and Seed Systems Programme and the Partnership to Fight Striga of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation — publishes a monthly newsletter with information on upcoming conferences, training programmes and funding opportunities. It also hosts a discussion forum where visitors can share experiences of issues such as crop improvement and molecular marker applications.

The website links to a wide range of documents and points to resources dedicated to specific African crops such as cassava, cowpea and sorghum. It also hosts an extensive collection of links to online databases, glossaries, bibliographies, search engines, genetic maps and statistics relating to African-focused biotechnology and plant breeding research.

FAO-BioDeC is a database of agricultural biotechnologies being researched, developed or applied in developing countries. It does not provide quantitative information on research being carried out in international centres located in developing countries, or on the level of funding any individual technology receives. But it does give an overview of the stages of adoption of agricultural technologies in different regions that can be used to identify gaps in research or areas for potential collaboration.

Over 50 correspondents from 54 countries contribute to the database, with articles about individual countries' policy frameworks, research institutes and biosafety regulations.

APDB — established in 2002 by the International Food Policy Research Institute and the New Partnership for Africas Development — provides a forum where representatives from African governments can discuss biotechnology strategies with regional and international nongovernmental organisations.

It links to useful background documents, including the 'statement of commitments' adopted at the second APDB meeting in September 2004.

The African Union Biosafety Project — a joint initiative of the African Union and the German Development Corporation — aims to help African countries meet their obligations under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and promotes adopting the African Model Law on Safety in Biotechnology as a common framework for biosafety regulation in Africa.

The project publishes basic information on its aims, objectives and management as well as documentation about its activities and meetings. It provides copies of the Model Law in four major languages and links to related websites.