The Role of Potential Risks in Production and Application of Biotechnology Crops as Perceived by Extension Specialists of Ministry of Agriculture

This study was done to identify the possible risks in production and application of biotechnology from the viewpoint of extension experts in ministry of agriculture. This study was an applied type research and was done by casual/correlative method. The population of the research was all extension experts of the ministry of agriculture. The tool for data collection was questionnaire that was used after confirmation of its validity and reliability. The findings of the study indicated that from the viewpoint of experts, the most important risks in agricultural biotechnology applications were the effects of unintended risks on basic resources and the loss of some beneficial insects and organisms with pests. The results of multiple regression analysis indicated that the two variables of biodiversity reduction and random change of sleeping genes explain 56.1 percent of variations of the production of GMO products. Meanwhile, based on another regression analysis, 52.1 percent of variance of the biotechnology application in agriculture is explained by the variables of risks to animal welfare and biodiversity reduction.