Abstract: Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is an agricultural country and the economy of the whole country heavily relies on the agricultural sector. The two distinct agro-eco climates allow the country to cultivate different crops throughout the year. The main agricultural research centers are under Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MOAI), Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Education. Current biotechnology researches focus on plant micropropagation, molecular breeding and breeding of rice by Gamma radiation, transgenic cotton research, genetic diversity of Myanmar rice cultivars, and biofertilizers. Although Myanmar at the moment does not yet have national policy on biosafety, guidelines or regulatory controls on the imports of GM food or food products, it is possible to import seeds (also possible the GM seeds) from neighboring countries. In 2010, Myanmar has officially become the fifth country in South and South East Asia, and the 29th country in the world to commercialize biotech crops (especially the long staple insect resistant Bt cotton). Overall, as biotechnology have been established for last decade in Myanmar, well-trained biotechnologists, research collaboration locally and internationally, well-organized network are still needed to improve.

Key words: Myanmar, biotechnology, research, application