Agricultural Biotechnology Centre

Welcome to the Agricultural Biotechnology Centre, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya (AgBC). AgBC was established with funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) with the vision to be “To be a Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Biotechnology for research and outreach activities in Sri Lanka and the region”. It was declared open in August 2003 to facilitate and strengthen research, capacity building and generate marketable products through molecular biology and biotechnology. The AgBC is the only such institution in Sri Lanka devoted to Agricultural Biotechnology and is currently identified as a Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology even by international organizations such as Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations (UN), and the World Bank in funding. The AgBC has all the high-end equipment and facilities needed to conduct basic biotechnology research and development, acquired through competitive research and development grants from international and local funding agencies. The AgBC also houses the ‘National Referral Laboratory for the Detection and Identification of Genetically Modified Organisms’ which was funded by Global Environment facility (GEF) funded project implemented by Ministry of Environment through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. AgBC operates under the guidance of the Dean Faculty of Agriculture and a full-time Director, a Professor in Molecular Biology & Biotechnology attached to the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya. It is a 24x7 open, financially self-sustainable facility that provides an ideal environment for research. The current facilities include Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Microscopy, Tissue culture, Bioinformatics, Metabolomics and controlled environmental facilities and office spaces. AgBC provides a multidisciplinary environment for research, creating linkages with the scientific community, research laboratories, research institutes and the private sector to contribute towards biotechnology and related programs. AgBC also offers workshops, training programs and “hands-on experience” to the stakeholders, including scientists, researchers, postgraduate students, and school children, to develop skills in the latest techniques in the field. These programs range from short & focused courses (one day) to longer extensive certificate courses (up to 100h). AgBC is a reliable service provider for the stakeholders with minimum rates approved by the Finance Committee of the University of Peradeniya. The future growth of AgBC is bright, and we look forward to the expansion of our research and training facilities to cater for the growing demand in the country and the region, among other goals. In the meantime, we wish to assure our partners that we are fully committed to achieve our set goals and objectives of delivering quality training programs as well as venturing into the development of marketable products to enhance – socio-economic development in our society. In summary, AgBC is uniquely positioned to train the right manpower, to conduct safe molecular biology research, to help industry start and succeed and to help scientists interface with industry and thereby to help the biotechnology industry grow into a large and mature one.