Biotech Updates

US, Australia, and India Collaborate on Abiotic Stress Tolerant Cereals

May 22, 2013

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with The Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG) and Vibha Agrotech Limited will collaborate to develop wheat and rice with drought and salinity tolerance through genetic modification. ACPFG's gene systems and technologies and the evaluation and rice transformation capabilities of Vibha, complement to expedite the development of GM products.

Dr. Julie Howard, USAID's Chief Scientist in the Bureau for Food Security and Senior Advisor to the Administrator on Agricultural Research, Extension and Education opined that, "We must use all the tools available to us to grow more food on less land and with less water. USAID is excited to launch this partnership and to leverage new expertise, resources and technologies to help make important cereal crops—and, ultimately, the smallholders who grow them – more resilient to climate change.

Details of the news can be seen at http://www.acpfg.com.au/uploads/documents/news/FINAL%20ACPFG_US_AUST_INDIA_PARTNERSHIPfinal.pdf.