Abstract This note summarizes the results of a consultation of scientific and regulatory experts in July 2005 on the potential of transgenic crops in Bangladesh. We find that Bangladeshi experts are optimistic on the potential of agricultural bio- technology to respond to biotic and abiotic stresses in their country in the future. Public research is constrained by human capacities, infrastructure and capital investment, and transgenic crop development will require the active involvement of outside partners, such as international organi- zations or collaboration with private companies. We also find that social acceptance of genetic engineering is not considered a major issue, but could become one, and prompted experts to call for a wider awareness campaign on the technology. Keywords Agricultural biotechnology Æ Bangladesh Æ Genetic engineering Æ Agricultural research Introduction Bangladesh population is about 140 million and it is expected to reach 160 million by 2015. The arable land of 14 million hectares is constrained by major abiotic stresses and is also decreasing by 1.6% per year due to river erosion and construc- tion. In this context, agriculture productivity improvement is a public priority to reduce the increasing gap between agricultural production and consumption needs, and allow this small country of 147,570 km 2 to support and sustain its large population. Agricultural biotechnology is considered by the government as one of the options that may help increase farm productivity in Bangladesh. The utilization of agricultural biotechnology techniques is still largely under exploited and therefore, may have important potential. There are currently research programs and available products derived from various techniques of agricultural biotechnology (e.g., tissue culture, micro propagation), but no transgenic crop has This research project was conducted as part of the South Asia Biosafety Program (SABP), a project funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and jointly managed by the International Food Policy Research Institute and AGBIOS Canada. The authors would like to thank the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council and all the participants to the meetings in Dhaka and Mymensingh for their help. G.P. Gruere (&) Æ R. Valmonte-Santos Æ M. W. Rosegrant Environment and Production Technology Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, 2033 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, USA e-mail: g.gruere@cgiar.org I. Hoque AGBIOS and University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh Plant Cell Tiss Organ Cult (2006) 86: 411–415 DOI 10.1007/s11240-006-9127-x 123 RESEARCH NOTE Potential of transgenic crops in Bangladesh: findings from a consultation of Bangladeshi scientific experts Guillaume P. Gruere Æ Imdadul Hoque Æ Rowena Valmonte-Santos Æ Mark W. Rosegrant Received: 12 May 2006 / Accepted: 31 May 2006 / Published online: 4 July 2006 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2006