Crop Biotech Update
Articles in the March 5, 2010 Issue of Crop Biotech Update

NEWS

Global
• Biotechnologies Should Benefit Poor Farmers in Poor Countries 
• New Project to Identify Best Approaches to Improve Agriculture in Developing Countries 

Africa
• African Small Stakeholders Get Assistance from Germany 

Americas
• ABSTC Reports IRM Stable Compliance and Requirements 
• Discovery in Legumes to Reduce Fertilizer Use, Aid Environment 
• Canada Invests in Oil Seed Research 
• Potato with Dual Resistance to Fungal Diseases 
• First Commercial Planting of SmartStaxTM Corn Hybrid 
• Corn and Soybean with New Herbicide Tolerance Traits 
• Peru to Prohibit Importation of GM Seeds 

Asia and the Pacific
• Philippines Remains at the Forefront of Biotech Adoption in Asia 
• Royal Society of New Zealand on the Potential Benefits and Risks of GM Forages 

Europe
• European Commission Approves Amflora Starch Potato 
• EU-JRC Publishes 9 New Plant Summary Notifications 
• Oviposition Behavior of Pest Insects Keeps Bt Cotton Durably Resistant 
• Commission Announces Proposal for GM Planting Choice for Member States 
• PRRI-STOA Seminar for EU Parliamentarian on GMOs 
• BIO Welcomes EU Decision on Biotech Crops 

Research
• Researchers Examine Plant's Ability to Identify and Block Invading Bacteria 
• Green Energy from Pea 
• Researchers Develop Model to Predict Pollen-Mediated Gene Flow in Rice 
• Teaching Corn to Fix Its Own Nitrogen 

Announcements
• Sustainability through Agricultural Biotech: Food, Biomaterials, Energy and Environment 
• TWAS Fellowships 

Commission Announces Proposal for GM Planting Choice for Member States

The Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli has been given an order to develop and submit a proposal by the European Union President Jose Manuel Barroso, on how a Community authorization system based on science can be combined with freedom of choice to plant GM crops on their respective territories. This came up after the comprehensive authorization procedure were granted for the amflora potato to be planted in the EU for industrial use, and the Amflora's starch by-products as feed. In addition, three approvals for food and feed uses and import and processing were granted to MON863xMON810, MON863xNK603, MON863xMON810xNK603. The five approvals were initially subjected to a strict study by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on the antibiotic resistance issues and were given favorable opinion in 11 June 2009.

Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli noted that "Responsible innovation will be my guiding principle when dealing with innovative technologies. After an extensive and thorough review of the five pending GM files, it became clear to me that there were no new scientific issues that merited further assessment. All scientific issues, particularly those concerning safety, had been fully addressed. Any delay would have simply been unjustified. By taking these decisions, the European Commission fulfils its role in a responsible manner. These decisions are based on a series of favorable safety assessments carried out over the years by the EFSA. In parallel we have today launched a reflection on how to combine a European authorization system with the freedom of Member States to decide on cultivation on GMOs."

See the press release at "http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/222&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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This article is part of the Crop Biotech Update, a weekly summary of world developments in agri-biotech for developing countries, produced by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Aquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications SEAsiaCenter (ISAAA)

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