The North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s AgBiotech Initiative stimulates opportunities that generate jobs, strengthen the economy, and produce products that heal, fuel and feed the world. In fiscal year 2016-17, the Kenan Institute collaborated with the N C Biotechnology Center in support of the 2016 Agricultural Biotechnology Summit. The 2016 Ag Biotech Summit focused emerging new trends and converging technologies that are changing the food value chain.
The program showcased these plant and animal technologies starting in the lab and moving all the way to the consumer level, with a focus on the impacts that products coming from what is currently in the lab or in a commercialization pathway will have on the food value chain. Held on September 27-28, 2016 at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill, this more focused event welcomed a targeted group of over 130 attendees from over 60 organizations, including national and international industry and academia and their scientists, business development professionals and C-level executives. The AgBiotech Initiative has continued to implement the Ag Biotech Industry in the Classroom, a hands-on professional development workshop for middle and high school science and agriculture teachers with activities, lectures and discussions on biotechnology’s role in agriculture. To date, more than 100 K-12 teachers have received this training. Some of the instructors for this workshop are Kenan Fellows.