GLOBAL FOOD SHORTAGES THREATEN 40 COUNTRIES,
SAYS FAO REPORT
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)'s report "Crop Prospects and Food
Situation" says that 40 countries face a food crisis with
Darfur in Sudan in
a precarious food supply situation that may worsen with
security problems.
The world cereal harvest in 2006, the FAO report warns, has deteriorated due
to exceptionally hot and dry weather in countries like Australia, Argentina, and Brazil. South Asia is also
experiencing drier-than-normal weathers that may affect
second paddy crops. FAO's forecast for cereal production
is about 1.6 percent less than that of the 2005 level.
A global concern will thus be the declining stock of food
and inadequacy of supplies to meet demand amidst surging
world prices, the report noted.
For more information, visit http://www.fao.org/newsroom/
en/news/2006/1000416/index.html
MORE INVESTMENT NEEDED IN AGRICULTURE,
SAYS FAO
Although agriculture plays a central role in combating poverty and malnutrition
in developing countries, the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) warns that foreign investment in this sector continues
to decline. From a total of over US$9 billion per year
in the early 1980s, it fell to less than US$5 billion in
the late 1990s. Meanwhile, more than 850 million people
around the world remain undernourished. For this reason,
the theme selected for 2006 World Food Day, celebrated
on October 16, is "Investing in agriculture for food security".
Most of the world's farmers are small-scale farmers, often themselves with
inadequate access to food. "Increasing the volume of public
investment in agriculture is of absolute necessity" said
Jacques Diouf, FAO's Director-General. Diouf noted that
while increased development assistance, public investment
and debt relief are key elements, equal importance should
be given to private sector investment.
For more information visit: http://www.fao.org/
wfd/2006/index.asp?lang=en and http://www.fao.org/wfd/
2006/dgmessage.asp.
IRRI PRESENTS NEW VISION FOR COMBATING
POVERTY
Food security will continue to
be a major strategy for the Philippine-based International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and for 2007 to 2015, its
first goal will be to reduce poverty among rice farmers
and consumers. Other goals will focus on environmental
sustainability, health and nutrition, access to information
and knowledge, and supporting efforts to develop new and
improved rice varieties. IRRI's Director General Dr. Robert
S. Zeigler announced the new Strategic Plan during the
opening of the International Rice Congress in New
Delhi, India.
"Unless many Asian nations can
get their rural or rice-based regions growing economically,
their national development efforts could stall completely.
Asia needs to invest more in agriculture and especially
agricultural research - without new ideas and technologies,
their rice industries will stagnate and hold back the rest
of the country", Zeigler noted.
Zeigler added that IRRI is embarking
on several projects that include efforts to develop rice
varieties that would help poor farmers cope with climate
change and drought and to completely reconfigure the plant's
photosynthetic system.
See the article on Zeigler's announcement at http://www.cgiar.org/newsroom/releases/
news.asp?idnews=496.
PERFORMANCE PLANTS INC, SYNGENTA
DEVELOP DROUGHT-TOLERANT CROPS
Performance Plants Inc. has entered into a licensing agreement with Syngenta
Seeds for development of drought tolerant corn and soybeans
seeds using Performance Plants' Yield Protection Technology
(YPT). YPT minimizes water loss in crops during drought
conditions by stimulating early closure of stomata (pores)
in leaves preventing wilting. The YPT trait is now moving
into field trials in corn, soybean, turf and ornamentals.
"The field results indicate that commercial corn and soybeans can be developed
that will withstand the effects of drought, significantly
improve water use efficiency, and generate powerful boosts
in crop performance and yields." said David Dennis, President
and Chief Executive Officer, Performance Plants.
Read the complete press release at http://www.performanceplants.com/
documents/PPI_Syngenta_Release_10_12_06.pdf
ADDING VALUE TO CASSAVA
According
to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), many developing
countries could strengthen their rural economies by converting
more cassava, a relatively cheap raw material, into high-value
starches. "Compared to starches derived from most
other plants, it has greater clarity and viscosity, and
it's very stable in acidic food products. It also has excellent
properties for use in non-food products, such as pharmaceuticals
and thermobioplastics," said Danilo Mejia, an agricultural
engineer with FAO's Agricultural Support Systems Division.
The
key to cassava's future in global and domestic starch markets,
FAO says, will be improvements in efficiency and quality,
and a reduction in production costs. For a model of successful
cassava starch industry development, African and Latin
American countries should turn to Thailand, the world's top producer. The country
now uses about 50 percent of its annual cassava root production
to extract some two million tons of starch. Half of it
goes to domestic food and non-food industries, while the
rest are exported, increasingly in the form of higher-value
modified starch for specialized applications. The country
is also exploring the use of starch as raw material for
production of bioethanol.
For the complete article, the readers can access: http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/
magazine/0610sp1.htm
IPGRI CHANGES NAME
The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute will be known as "Biodiversity
International" or "Biodiversity" from December 2006. Emile
Frison, IPGRI's Director General said in a statement that
this move will reflect the current organization's strategy "which
focuses on improving people's lives through biodiversity
research". The organization is the world's largest international
institute dedicated to the conservation and use of plant
genetic resources.
For more details visit: http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/
institute/NewName.htm.
AFRICA KENYA GETS NATIONAL BIOTECHNOLOGY POLICY
The government of Kenya has adopted a comprehensive national policy
to guide the research, development and trade in biotechnology
products, the National Biotechnology Development Policy
2006, which comes into effect immediately. According to
Kenyan laws, a Policy, unlike a Bill, does not have to
go through parliamentary debate. The policy has been the
result of several years of debate involving all major biotechnology
stakeholders and relevant government departments.
Noah Wekesa, Kenyan Minister for Science and Technology, said the policy is one of the measures the government is
putting in place to chart its vision on biotechnology development
and application in the country. "This policy will provide
those developing and applying the technology a clear framework
in which to operate in order to address fears on their
safety," saidWekesa. She added that the government is determined to explore the
use of biotechnology for the benefit of Kenyans, and to
ensure that the country becomes a key participant in the
international biotechnology enterprise within a decade.
The approval and adoption of the policy now clears the way for fast-tracking
the enactment of biosafety and biotechnology laws to enable
the country to be compliant with international instruments
governing trade in biotechnology products.
For more information contact Kenya National Biosafety Office at telefax 318249.
Visit their website at http://:www.biosafetykenya.co.ke.
BIOTECH CROP PLANTINGS INCREASE
IN SOUTH
AFRICA
Genetically modified (GM) crops are now widely planted in South
Africa with biotech cotton accounting
for approximately 92 percent of total production. Of
the total soybean acreage in the country, 59 percent
was GM, while biotech corn accounted for 29 percent. GM
corn plantings increased from 16.6 percent in 2005 to
29.4 percent in 2006. White corn varieties, a staple
food for majority of South Africans, saw an increase
from 8.6 percent to 28.8 percent. These are highlights
of a report on biotechnology in South
Africa released by the US Department
of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service.
The 22-page report examines the
use, development, and regulation of agricultural biotechnology
in the country. "South Africa can
play a vital role as other countries in Africa
develop biotechnology policies because it has the most
resources, such as scientific expertise and financial support,
as well as a progressive regulatory system. Without the
South African Government's leadership role in this region,
the progress in agricultural biotechnology, or for that
matter any technology, can be stifled by anti-technology
groups", the report noted.
Although no new commercial crop
is expected soon, South African scientists are
doing research on new varieties of GM corn, melon, millet, lupins,
soybeans, strawberries, sugar cane, cotton, apples, tomatoes,
sorghum, wheat, potatoes and grapes.
See the full report at http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/
200608/146208636.pdf
A GOOD HARVEST NOT END TO CYCLE
OF MALNUTRITION, WARNS WFP
Despite predictions of generally improved harvests in the Sahel
region this year, the United Nations World Food Program
(WFP) warned that localized crop failures persist that contribute directly to malnutrition. The Sahel is a semi-arid
belt that comprises parts of Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger in West Africa.
"Malnutrition does not simply disappear with the arrival of the new harvest
and return the next lean season. WFP and our partners are
fighting a battle that cannot be won over a few weeks or
months", said Jean-Jacques Graisse, WFP senior deputy executive
director.
According to a report by the aid agency Oxfam, while spending on food and humanitarian
aid has increased, aid for agricultural production within
sub-Saharan Africa dropped by 43 percent
between 1990-92 and 2000-02. Oxfam has criticized the international
community's approach to hunger, saying that poverty, not
hunger, is the main cause of food emergencies, and that
food aid should "not be viewed as the inevitable default
response to food insecurity".
With reports from: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?
ReportID=55892&SelectRegion=West_Africa
& SelectCountry=WEST_AFRICA
NEW DESERT LOCUST THREAT IN NORTH, WEST
AFRICA
The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) warns of
another possible locust invasion of North and West
Africa. Adults of the crop-devouring insects were recently
detected in northwestern Mauritania, and neighboring
countries have already been warned by the FAO Locust Group
to increase the level of alert against a potential Desert
Locust threat.
In 2004, a Desert Locust upsurge caused heavy damage to agriculture in several
parts of West Africa. By summer 2005,
the upsurge has ended, thanks to unfavorable weather and
control operations. This time, FAO intends to test a new
control method which employs a natural fungus, called Metarhizium
anisopliae. The fungus infects locust hoppers in such
a way that they stop feeding and die in one to three weeks.
According to FAO's Assistant Director-General Alexander
Müller, "the current situation is an opportunity to field
test environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional
pesticides."
Access the news release at http://www.fao.org/
newsroom/en/news/2006/1000418/index.html and http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?
NewsID=20208&Cr=Africa&Cr1=Locust. For
the most up-to-date information about the Desert Locust
situation, visit the Locust Watch web site: http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts.
THE AMERICAS
NEW PEW INITIATIVE/NASDA
WORKSHOP REPORT ON "PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE"
The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology and the National Association of
State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) held in Boulder, US,
on March 2006, a workshop aimed at identifying potential
options for advancing "peaceful coexistence" of conventional,
biotech and organic crops in the market place. Participants
to the workshop included representatives from state and
federal governments; GE, conventional, and organic farmers;
the European Union, seed companies, food processing and
marketing companies, academia and the biotech industry.
Highlights of the report include:
. Growers of conventional and organic crops have at times been denied market
access when unable to meet market specifications.
. The lack of standardized, internationally accepted marketing standards, testing
methodologies, and protocols pose a significant challenge
to the operation of agricultural marketing chains.
. Overcoming the challenges and capitalizing on the opportunities provided
by fostering "peaceful coexistence" will require a combination
of market, research, farmer-to-farmer communication and
Federal, state and local government efforts.
To read the report "Peaceful Coexistence among Growers of: Genetically Engineered,
Conventional and Organic Crops", visit http://pewagbiotech.org/events/0301.
US$1.1 MILLION AWARDED FOR RESEARCH
ON INVASIVE PESTS
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced US$1.1 million
have been granted to universities in Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, Texas, and Washington to
study the economic implications of preventing, controlling,
or eradicating invasive pests and diseases.
"The control of invasive plant pests and foreign animal diseases is a major
priority in protecting our environment and agricultural
sector," said US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. "This
research will help identify effective strategies for preventing
the introduction of invasive species and managing their
presence."
More information about the projects in: http://www.ers.usda.gov/
briefing/invasivespecies.
With reports from: http://www.usda.gov/
wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=
true&contentid=2006/10/0401.xml
ON THE HORIZON: AFLATOXIN-FREE
NUTS
Researchers at the USDA-ARS Western Regional Research Center
discovered a way to almost eliminate aflatoxins in nuts,
such as almond and walnuts. Aflatoxin is a cancer-causing
compound produced in nuts by the fungus Aspergillus
flavus.
Bruce Campbell and his colleagues determined that certain antioxidants can
prevent the fungus from producing aflatoxins. One among
the antioxidants is caffeic acid, a natural ingredient
in coffee beans and a chemical compound found in many crops.
The researchers observed that by applying caffeic acid
to walnuts and pistachio extracts, the level of aflatoxin
produced by the fungus was reduced by 95%. The results
of their study may have implications in controlling aflatoxin
using the antioxidants in tree nut orchards.
For the complete story please visit http://www.ars.usda.gov/
is/AR/archive/oct06/nuts1006.htm
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
AUSTRALIA APPROVES 24 GM COTTON LINES
Australia's Office of the Gene Technology
Regulator approved Monsanto Australia Ltd.'s application
for the limited and controlled release of about 24 genetically
modified (GM) cotton lines with different genes that are
expected to enhance water use efficiency. The release involves
preliminary (proof of concept) research covering a maximum
total area of 20 hectares on up to 10 sites during each
of the two summer growing seasons of 2006/07 and 2007/08
in New South Wales and Queensland.
Details of the decision are available online at http://www.ogtr.gov.au
MALAYSIA'S BIOTECH COUNCIL APPROVES BIOSAFETY
ACT
Malaysia's National Biosafety-Biotechnology
Council approved the Biosafety Act in a meeting chaired
by Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,
and attended by cabinet members who discussed the implications
of the Act on the country's biotechnology industry. The
Biosafety Act is expected to complete the National Biotechnology
Policy which aims to regulate the use of genetically modified
organisms. It is expected to be discussed in Parliament
this November.
In related developments, the proposal to set up a National Biosafety Board
will also be tackled in Parliament next year. The Board
will be responsible for approving the import and export of biological
products. In addition, a Genetic Modification Advisory
Committee composed of scientists will be formed to assist
the Board in implementing policies.
Email Mahaletchumy Arujanan of the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre
(MABIC) at maha@bic.org.my for
additional information. Visit MABIC's website at http://www.bic.org.my for other updates on Malaysia's biotechnology
activities.
INDIAN PM URGES SCIENTISTS TO TAP
BIOTECH POTENTIAL IN RICE
While inaugurating the second International Rice Congress (IRC) 2006 in New
Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said "owing to the
ecological, social and cultural diversity of rice based
production systems, we can utilize rice cultivation to
address concerns relating to food security, nutrition,
poverty, food safety, and environmental and natural resource
sustainability, across the world. What we need is the further
application of science and technology to develop the rice
economies." He enumerated examples of "golden rice" and "iron
rich rice", and of their potential to address deficiency
of vitamin A and micronutrients.
PM has called for scientist's community to address a number of profound social,
economic and ethical questions that are associated with
biotechnology.
Prime Ministers' Speech at IRC 2006: http://www.icar.org.in/
irc2006/ircmedia/PMSpeech.doc
Press release for inaugural address: http://www.icar.org.in/
irc2006/9102006.doc
KHUSH RECEIVES SWAMINATHAN AWARD
FOR LEADERSHIP IN AGRICULTURE
Gurdev Singh Khush, a rice breeder from the International Rice Research Institute
(IRRI), has been awarded the Swaminathan Award for Leadership
in Agriculture by the Prime Minister of India Manmohan
Singh during the International Rice Congress 2006 in New Delhi. Khush has been the main force behind the development of
more than 300 high yielding rice varieties that played
significant role towards achieving the 'Green Revolution'.
The Citation for Gurdev S Khush is available at: http://www.icar.org.in/irc2006/ircmedia/citation.pdf
Press release for inaugural address: http://www.icar.org.in/irc2006/9102006.doc
INDIA, NEW PHONE-BASED AGRIC INFO SERVICE FOR FARMERS
"Soochna Se Samadhan Sewa" is a new phone-based information service to provide
agricultural and veterinary advice to farmers now available
in selected villages in North India.
The service, established by OneWorld in collaboration with
BT and Cisco, is part of a community project in support
of one of the UN Millennium Development Goals on digital
inclusion, aimed at helping developing countries to become
part of the digital society.
Farmers can access the service by dialing to register their query. The system
stores the call on a web-based application, and knowledge
workers seek answers from experts and provide these back
to the farmers, in the local language, within 24 hours.
The content and agriculture information is being provided
by the Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP).
It is expected that this initiative will supplement ongoing
research and funding initiatives aimed at raising agricultural
productivity and improving farmers' livelihood.
Read the full press release at: http://southasia.oneworld.net/
article/view/140355/1/1893
EUROPE
EFSA WRAPS UP 2nd STAGE PESTICIDE PEER REVIEW PROCESS
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has completed its work on the 2nd stage
of the EU-wide peer review of active substances used in
plant protection products (pesticides), and issued conclusions
on 50 substances that have been peer reviewed for safety
by experts from the EU Member States and EFSA. Based on these conclusions, the
European Commission and Member States must now decide in the next
six months whether to continue the use of these substances
in the EU.
"EFSA is at the center of a truly European process involving experts from all
the EU Member States, pooling their knowledge to improve
the quality of risk assessment in the interests of consumers
and operators", said EFSA Director of Science, Dr. Herm
Koëter.
Read the complete press release at http://www.efsa.europa.eu/
en/press_room/press_release/pr_praper-2nd-stage.html.
The conclusions on all 50 active substances including background
documents are available on the EFSA website at http://www.efsa.europa.eu/
en/science/praper/conclusions.html.
RNA INTERFERENCE (RNAi) TO KEEP
PESTS AT BAY
The root knot and cyst nematodes are pests that cause significant damage to
important cereals, vegetables, and legumes in most parts
of the world. There is no effective and environmentally
safe method available to prevent or treat plant nematode
infections. In an article published in a recent issue of Molecular
and Biochemical Parasitology, Bindhya Chal Yadava and
colleagues of the Indian Institute of Technology and Madurai Kamaraj University
find that "Host-generated double stranded RNA induces RNAi
in plant-parasitic nematodes and protects the host from
infection."
Researchers made a construct containing two genes from the nematode Meloidogyne
incognita, constructed in such a way that the resultant
transcript would be a double-stranded RNA molecule. Double-stranded
RNA is cleaved into short interfering RNA molecules (RNAi)
that impair with the activity of genes that have the
same sequence. The researchers introduced this construct
into tobacco plants, and inoculated plants with M.
incognita, which would lodge in knots in plant roots.
The researchers found that: 1) while all control plants developed large root
knots, only 2 out of 25 transgenic plants formed root knots;
2) root knots on transgenic plants were much smaller than
those found on conventional plants; and 3) the inability
of nematodes to infect transgenic roots was a result of
RNAi of the targeted genes. The scientists add that their
method is also a powerful tool to characterize the functions
of parasite genes.
Subscribers to Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology can read the complete
article through http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.molbiopara.2006.03.013
TRACKING SUGAR METABOLISM IN LIVING
PLANTS, IN REAL TIME
Scientists at Carnegie's Department of Plant Biology have made the first real-time
observations of sugars in the cells of intact and living
plant tissues. Led by Carnegie staff member Wolf Frommer,
the researchers designed a groundbreaking imaging technique
to monitor glucose, an important sugar, in leaf and root
tissues of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
Aside from being a source of energy, glucose is a starting
material in the formation of bioethanol.
The protein-based imaging tags used by the group resemble a hinged clam shell.
When glucose binds to the 'hinge', the 'shell' opens up.
The fluorescent tags then change colors depending on the
distance between the two protein 'shells'. With the help
of such sensors, the researchers found that the plant maintained
glucose at higher levels in leaf tissue than in roots.
In fact, root cells were found to contain sugar at concentrations
at least 100,000 times lower than previous estimates.
"Imaging techniques like this are the next frontier in the study of metabolism,
and will help to answer some of the most pressing questions
on plant biologists' minds, such as the role of individual
genes in the distribution of sugars," said Frommer. The
new technology will enable new studies of sugar metabolism
in plants, which will inform the effort to engineer higher
crop yields for food and biofuel production.
The readers can view the complete news release at http://www.carnegieinstitution.org/fret_sugars/default.html.
ASIANBIO'06- BIOTECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES
FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
The Research and Information System for the Non-Aligned and Other Developing
Countries (RIS) of India is organizing with the Biotechnology
Coalition of the Philippines and other institutions the
Asian Conference on Biotechnology and Development, to be
held in Manila, Philippines, on November 9-10. The conference
aims to bring together representatives of different stakeholders
in order to review and discuss the issues surrounding biotechnology,
and to identify how this technology can be used to spur
development and growth of countries within the Asian region.
More information on this event is available: http://www.bcp.org.ph/asianbio2006/about/index.htm
WRITING COMPETITION FOR YOUNG INDONESIAN
RESEARCHERS
The Indonesian Institute of Science will hold a writing competition
for Indonesian young researchers to enhance the quantity
and quality of scientific publications in Indonesia. The topics covered include: Social
and Culture; Economy and Management; Nature Science and
Environment; Engineering and Technique of Science; and
Health and Medical Science.
The deadline for the submission of article is 31 October 2006. For further
information, visit: http://www.lipi.go.id
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