GIA LAI, Vietnam: Leading gene-editing scientists gathered in the Gia Lai Province on Wednesday (Nov 4) for an international conference on genome engineering, as Vietnam works out how to regulate gene-edited crops and bring them to market.
The Frontiers in Genome Engineering 2026 conference, the eighth edition of the meeting and the first held in Vietnam, drew nearly 150 scientists, researchers and doctoral students from 15 countries to the International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE) in the Quy Nhon.
Nguyen Van Long, who heads the science and technology department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, said a government decree issued this year, Decree 43, had added rules on identifying and regulating gene-edited organisms.
But authorities still need to clarify how scientific evidence should be prepared, what product developers and regulators are each responsible for, and how a decision on a product’s legal status ties in with later requirements for testing, variety registration and food safety, he said.
"The potential is enormous, but each product has its own characteristics, level of risk and regulatory requirements," Long said.
Decisions should rest on evidence about how a product was made, the nature of the genetic change, whether it contains foreign DNA, the trait it carries and its intended use, he said. Gene-edited fish and other aquatic species raise further questions, including how they might spread and interact with the environment.
The farm sector needs to raise productivity and quality while adapting to climate change, Long said, and gene-editing tools such as CRISPR, which allow targeted changes to DNA, could help breeders develop crops, livestock and fish with specific traits.
The Government’s plans for an agricultural biotechnology industry call for commercially viable products, not just technical mastery, he said, but shortages of equipment, materials and other resources, along with difficulty forging ties with businesses, stand in the way.
He called for evidence-based proposals on guidelines, standards and inter-agency coordination, as well as methods for identifying gene-edited organisms.
Cao Thi Mong Hoai, deputy director of Gia Lai's Department of Science and Technology, said advances in genome engineering could help produce higher-yielding, more resilient crops and livestock and open new avenues for diagnosing and treating disease.
But developing and using such technologies also requires strong research capacity, a highly skilled workforce and a commitment to safety and responsible use, she stressed. — Vietnam News/ANN
