Situated near the Ghent Biotech Valley, Europe’s largest plant biotech cluster, IPBO is a central node of an international network for R&D in plant biotechnology. IPBO works in close collaboration with the Flemish Institute of Biotechnology (VIB) and the Department of Plant Systems Biology (PSB). Access to frontier R&D, expertise in public-private partnerships and pioneering expertise in plant transformation are among the major strengths of the PSB/IPBO team.

The mandate of IPBO is supported by a number of key international affiliations involved in the deployment of plant biotechnology. As such, IPBO represents a powerful forum to both leverage the opportunities plant biotechnology presents for sustainable rural development, and challenge the obstacles facing its deployment.

Our programs with well-focused themes have proven to be highly effective as platforms for bringing together the public and private sector, stimulating interactions and cooperation at North–South as well as South–South level.

• ALCUE-KBBE - Latin American and Caribbean Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy in Partnership with Europe 
• IIBN - The International Industrial Biotechnology Network
• FURARN - The Flanders-Unido Risk Assessment Network
• CCDNN - Cassava Cyanide Diseases and Neurolathyrism Network