Biotechnology has the potential to defeat hunger, malnutrition and disease and can be a boon to developing countries faced with growing populations and widespread poverty.

This was the message of speakers from the developing worl d during the session on the biorevolution of the 21st century, which highlighted the importance of overcoming consumer fears in the industrialized world. .

Kenyan biotechnology expert Florence Wambugu said that activists spend $100 million a year to fight trade in genetically modified crops although they had no data to prove they were harmful to human beings or the environment.

Krishna Jajodia, Group Chairman of India's Assam company, said that with the world population expected to exceed eight billion by 2005, more scientists now recognized that biotechnology was an important tool in food output.

"The promise of biotechnology as an instrument of development lies in its capacity to improve the quantity and quality of plants and animals quickly and effectively," Mr Jajodia said.

Tony Scullion, CEO of Memory Pharmaceuticals Ltd., pointed up the problems of memory loss in ageing populations in the United States and other developed countries. "Advances in medical science are making it possible for us to live longer, the question we must ask is, will we be able to live well?"

ICC Vice-President Jean-René Fourtou said that more than any other technology, biotechnology created fear. That fear persisted even though life expectancy had never been higher, famines eradicated everywhere where the political situation allowed, and prosperity has spread to ever large population groups.

"We need permanent dialogue involving all players in society…One of the main challenges therefore is to create the necessary conditions for that dialogue."

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