Delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lao PDR, led by Mr. Ammala Saenchonghack, Deputy Head of the National Secretariat for Mekong-Lancang Cooperation, and Ms. Soudakham PHIMMASONE, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, visited the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), under the National Science and Technology Development Agency. The purpose of the visit was to gain insights from the Lancang-Mekong Special Collaboration Fund (LMC Special Fund) Projects and regional initiatives at BIOTEC. The delegation was received by Dr. Wonnop Visessanguan, Executive Director, and Dr. Kuakoon Piyachomkwan, Deputy Executive Director.
BIOTEC’s Dr. Warinthorn Songkasiri, Project Investigator & Director of Biochemical Engineering and Systems Biology Research Group, presented LMC Special Fund funded project on “The Successful Implementation of Regional project on Sustainable Cassava Value Chain in The Mekong Regin & Bioeconomy”.
Dr. Supawadee Ingsriswang, MekongDNA Principal Researcher of Thailand Bioresource Research Center and PI presented “MekongDNA Project: The Successful Implementation of Microbial-based Index to Assess the Ecological status of the Lancang-Mekong River” which is also funded by LMC Special Fund.
Dr. Jonaliza Lanceras Siangliw, a Researcher from the Innovative Plant Biotechnology and Precision Agriculture Research Team, presented ‘The Community of Practices’: Community Outreach in the Mekong Region. The focus was on disseminating improved Mekong rice varieties to farmers through farmer participatory selection and sustainable seed production. This impactful project has spanned over 20 years.
The delegates also visited the Food and Feed Innovation Center, where Dr. Atikorn Panya, Team Leader of the Food Biotechnology Research Team, offered a brief overview. Additionally, the Thailand Bioresource Research Center provided information through Dr. Supawadee Ingsriswang, the Principal Investigator and Researcher for the Mekong DNA Project, along with Ms. Suwanee Chunhameha, a Technician from the Microbial Systems and Computational Biology Research Team within the Thailand Bioresource Research Center.
