Global

World cereal production in 2008/09 is expected to increase by 5.3 percent, reaching 2.24 billion tons, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in the latest issue of ‘Food Outlook’. High prices tempted farmers to increase plantings and favorable weather means that world cereal production is expected to hit a new record high. However, the Rome-based UN agency cautioned that farmers from developing countries burdened by rising cost of agricultural inputs might be unable to keep up with the production next year. FAO noted that most of the recovery in cereal production took place in developed countries, where farmers were in a better position to respond to high prices. Farmers in developing countries, on the other hand, were limited in their capacity to respond to high prices by supply side constraints on their agricultural sectors.

Concepcion Calpe, one of the report’s main authors, stressed that the increase in cereal production should not create a false sense of security. Calpe said: "for example, if the current price volatility and liquidity conditions prevail in 2008/09, plantings and output could be affected to such an extent that a new price surge might take place in 2009/10, unleashing even more severe food crises than those experienced recently."

The report says that world agriculture is facing serious long-term issues and challenges that need to be urgently addressed. These include land and water constraints, low investments in rural infrastructure and agricultural research, expensive agricultural inputs relative to farm-gate prices, and little adaptation to climate change.

Read the news release at http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/8271/icode/ The Food Outlook report is available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/011/ai474e/ai474e00.htm

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The Global Hunger Index (GHI) in 2008 shows that hunger is still a serious concern in the world and countries have made slow progress in reducing food security. The countries with the highest GHI scores are mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Countries in the bottom list include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Burundi, Niger, and Sierra Leone. These were some of the findings in “The Challenge of Hunger 2008: Global Hunger Index” published by Welthungerhilfe, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and Concern Worldwide.

Klaus von Grebmer and colleagues conclude that solving the food crisis will require several initiatives such as more food aid for poor people, greater investments in agriculture, and measures to calm the global food markets.

Download the publication at http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/cp/GHI08.asp#es

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“The food crisis has reawakened awareness of the need to secure the food supply; this is encouraging a change in attitude and will lead to a calmer approach to green genetic engineering.” This view on plant biotechnology was forwarded by Professor Stefan Tangermann, Director of the Trade and Agriculture Directorate at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in his keynote speech at Bayer CropScience’s research conference in Essen, Germany.

Tangermann emphasized the importance of innovation in boosting agricultural productivity. He said that research and development programs of international companies, in particular, need to provide the major impetus behind greater productivity.

Check out http://www.bayercropscience.com/BCSWeb/CropProtection.nsf/id/EN_20081031 for more information about the research conference.

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Africa

A new cassava variety, TMS92/0067, developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria has been found to be well adapted to the dry or drought-prone areas in the semi-arid zones of sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, farmers are expected to enjoy 6-10 times better yields.

 IITA says the new variety was widely tested in farmers' fields in Burkina Faso and the Chad in West Africa, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Central Africa. The variety demonstrated high resistance to several diseases such as the Cassava Bacterial Blight (CBB) and Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD). The variety also has excellent hosting qualities to Typhlodromalus aripo, an effective biological control agent of the cassava green mite.

Read IITA's press release at http://www.iita.org/cms/details/news_feature_details.aspx?articleid=1897&zoneid=342

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Americas

Scientists from the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will soon release advanced soybean breeding lines that carry slow-wilting traits. Field trials have demonstrated that the new soybean varieties perform well under drought conditions, and also show good yield when rainfall is plentiful. The slow-wilting lines yield 4 to 8 bushels more than conventional varieties under drought conditions, depending on the region and environment.

The new soybean lines were developed by ‘Team Drought’, a group of researchers at five universities led by ARS plant geneticist Thomas Carter. For more than 25 years, Carter has been working on transferring slow-wilting characteristics from Asian landraces, which are foreign "introductions," into U.S.-adapted varieties.

Using conventional breeding methods, Carter and his team develop hundreds of new breeding lines each year, for a total of more than 5,000. The scientists have identified five soybean lines that consistently stand up to drought.

Read the full article at http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=1261

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Researchers at the University of Delaware, in collaboration with scientists from the South Dakota State University and University of Arizona identified a novel gene silencing mechanism in corn that helps protect the crop from mutation-causing viruses and jumping genes. The discovery was made by comparing the impact of inactivating a gene that occurs in both corn and in the model Arabidopsis.

Scientists from the University of Delaware had previously studied Arabidopsis mutants with non-functional RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 2 (RDR2) gene. RDR2 encodes an enzyme that allows plants to produce a group of small RNAs, which in turn act to protect the integrity of genes on the chromosome. University of Arizona researchers, in a different study, identified a gene in maize equivalent to the RDR2 of Arabidopsis. Because the RDR2 and MOP1 genes should both produce the “protective” set of small RNAs, the research groups decided to collaborate to see if the small RNAs in corn behave the same way they do in Arabidopsis.

The researchers found that there are lots more RNAs of an unusual class known as “small interfering RNAs (siRNAs)” in corn than there are in Arabidopsis. This class of RNAs mainly functions to repress repetitive sequences, including jumping genes. Since there are more protective small RNAs in maize than in Arabidopsis, the scientists suspect that there are additional genes other than MOP1 that produce the siRNAs.

Read the full article at http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2009/oct/corn103008.html

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The International Cooperative Biodiversity Group Program, a multi-agency program led by the National Institutes of Health, and supported by the United States Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation has recently given a five year $4 million grant to the University of California, Davis scientists to study biodiversity on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, a southeast Asian island threatened by the loss of biodiversity in its tropical forests. "The alarming rate at which biodiversity is being lost in many tropical regions has resulted in an urgent need for such efforts," said Prof Daniel Potter, the lead investigator and director of the University of California Davis Center for Plant Diversity.  An international team of collaborators will use the results in making significant contributions to the biodiversity issues including:

• development of knowledge about the patterns of biodiversity in southeast Asia;
• identification and isolation of natural products with potential value for treating globally important diseases and addressing human energy needs;
• development of effective biodiversity conservation strategies and proactive outreach and education programs to promote those strategies; and
• establishment of models for effective and equitable international collaborative partnerships, and ethical and sustainable international sharing of biogenetic resources.

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A 30 -page report on the “Gene Flow in Alfalfa: Biology, Mitigation and Potential Impact on Production,” recently published by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, and co-authored by University of California plant scientists led by Allen Van Deynze would shed light on the co-existence of conventional, organic and genetically-engineered alfalfa. "We now have enough scientific data to design strategies for preventing gene flow from genetically engineered to conventional or organic alfalfa hay and seed operations," said Van Deynze.

The report provides information on understanding potential gene flow, seed production and the development of strategies to mitigate gene flow. The report, written and reviewed by a 12-member task force is available electronically for $10 or as a paper copy for $18 plus shipping expenses through http://www.cast-science.org/.

For more information, see press release at: http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=8856

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Monsanto Company announced plans to acquire the sugar cane-breeding company Aly Participacoes Ltda., in a bid to tap the growing demand for raw sugar and biofuels. Monsanto agreed to pay US$ 290 million for the Brazil-based company, which operates CanaVialis S.A. and Alellyx S.A.

CanaVialis is the world's largest private sugarcane breeding company. Alellyx, on the other hand, is an applied genomics company that focuses on developing biotech traits primarily for sugarcane. Monsanto has previously established a licensing and trait-collaboration agreement with these companies to develop and commercialize Roundup Ready and Bt insect-protected technologies for sugarcane growers in Brazil.

“We expect the additions of CanaVialis and Alellyx will allow us to combine our breeding expertise with key large-acre crops with their breeding expertise in sugarcane. Our goal with this approach is to increase yields in sugarcane while reducing the amount of resources needed for this crop's cultivation, just as we're doing now for corn, soybeans and cotton,” said Carl Casale, executive vice president of global strategy and operations for Monsanto. Brazil is the world's largest producer of sugarcane, the largest exporter of finished sugar, and the world's second-largest producer of ethanol after the United States.

Read the press release at http://monsanto.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=656

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Asia and the Pacific

Australia’s Office of the Gene Technology Regulator is assessing an application from the Department of Primary Industries Victoria for a limited and controlled release of one white clover line genetically modified (GM) for resistance to Alfalfa mosaic virus.

Proposed experiments will be done to evaluate the agronomic performance, including seed yield, of the GM white clover line under field conditions. The trial is proposed to take place in New South Wales on a maximum of 633 m² from 2009-2011.

Read more about the application at  http://www.ogtr.gov.au/internet/ogtr/publishing.nsf/Content/dir089-2008

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Dow AgroSciences Australia Ltd. has submitted an application to the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) for the commercial release of the insect-resistant Widestrike cotton in Australia. The GM cotton contains the Bt genes cry1Ac and cry1F, which confer resistance to a range of major lepidopteran caterpillar pests. It also contains the selectable herbicide tolerance marker gene pat.

Dow proposes that the GM cotton will be grown in all cotton growing areas of Australia and that plant material from the GM cotton would be used in the same manner as plant material from non-transgenic varieties.

Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) has previously approved food derived from this GM cotton for human use. A comprehensive Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan (RARMP) for the application will be prepared, taking into account advice received from prescribed experts, agencies and authorities.

Visit http://www.ogtr.gov.au/internet/ogtr/publishing.nsf/Content/dir091 for more information.

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Bayer CropScience has entered into a strategic partnership with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) for the development and global marketing of agricultural products. Bayer said that the products will be developed using the latest technologies in the areas of plant breeding, genetics, genomics and seed production. Zhai Huqu, president of the CAAS, and Michiel van Lookeren Capagne, head of research at BioScience, signed a memorandum of understanding in Ghent, Belgium earlier this week.

Joachim Schneider, Head of Bayer’s BioScience Business Unit, said: “By combining both parties' strengths, CAAS and Bayer CropScience will jointly develop advanced technologies that will improve farming productivity and enhance the quality of agriculture produce.” He further noted that the cooperation will enable Bayer to expand its seeds and traits business in China "in accordance with the long term plan for sustainable development of Chinese agriculture."

Read the press release at http://www.bayercropscience.com/BCSWeb/CropProtection.nsf/id/EN_20081104?Open&nw=y%20

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“We need a good communication strategy to raise public awareness on biotechnology in Indonesia. Genetic modification techniques should be utilized in the country to produce more and nutritionally superior food,” said the head of the Indonesian Science Institute (LIPI), Prof Umar Anggara Jenie during the opening discussion of the symposium on The Role of Modern Biotechnology in Food Security held in Jakarta. Highlighting the affair was the talk of the Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Marine Affairs, Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Dr. Bayu Krisnamurthi who underscored the importance of biotechnology in addressing global food requirements. He noted the challenges faced by Indonesia including the higher food demand compared to food production, climate change that affects plant growth pattern and the new demand for biofuel. He ended by saying that. “We should think out-of -the-box to use all the opportunities to feed ourselves”.

The event attended by 60 participants from different sectors of the society was organized by the Indonesian Biosafety Clearing House in collaboration with the Indonesian Biotechnology Consortium. The topics covered the status of food sufficiency in Indonesia; challenges and efforts to increase food sufficiency; the role of research in order to support food sufficiency; role of modern biotechnology for genetically modified products; and role of genetically modified product regulation in Indonesia.

For more information on this event, visit http://www.indonesiabch.org/ or email deswina@indonesiabch.org. For news on biotechnology in Indonesia, email Dewi Suryani of Indonesian Biotechnology Information Center at dewisuryani@biotrop.org.

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Europe

Organic mash samples taken by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture for an analysis, contained various amounts of GM materials says the Ministry’s General Inspection Service. Of the 62 samples taken by the Ministry in 2006 and 2007, 18 percent contained GM soy under the EU-agreed 0.9 percent GMO threshold. Two samples, however, were found to contain higher than 0.9 percent and were not labeled as required by the European Union guidelines. These samples were taken from mashed based on soy. Further investigation revealed that all the cases of GM admixture were unintended.

It is unclear how European labeling guidelines should be interpreted if the GM material found in feed that was not added deliberately by the producer. The Dutch Minister of Agriculture raised this concern at the EU Standing Committee for Food and Feed and the European Commission said that it would react this fall.

The article is available at http://www.coextra.eu/country_reports/news1279_en.html

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BASF Plant Science GmbH in Germany has submitted a notification report for the release into the environment of genetically modified potatoes with altered starch metabolism. This information was posted in the website managed by the Joint Research Center of the European Commission on behalf of the Directorate General for the Environment. Seed potatoes to be produced from the amylopectin potatoes will be used in subsequent field trials.

See a list of notifications at http://gmoinfo.jrc.ec.europa.eu/gmp_report.aspx?CurNot=B/DE/08/197

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A scientific paper published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that the current ban in France on the cultivation of Monsanto’s genetically modified maize is not scientifically justified. MON810 is the only genetically modified crop grown in the European Union. Earlier this year, the French government issued a nationwide ban on the GM maize because of 'serious doubts’ as to its safety.

France has submitted a number of scientific papers to the European Commission (EC) to justify the ban. Under EU law, a Member State can invoke safeguards on specific GMOs in the case where new or additional information would affect the risk assessment of an authorized transgenic organism. To this end, the EC requested EFSA to examine the claims and documents submitted by France.

EFSA’s GMO Panel released its opinion last week, saying that "no specific scientific evidence, in terms of risk to human and animal health and the environment, was provided that would justify the invocation of a safeguard clause".

For more information, visit http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa_locale-1178620753812_1211902156394.htm

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Scientists from the Utrecht University in the Netherlands and Ghent University in Belgium have discovered a way to grow roots at places where leaves will normally grow. The discovery, the scientists say, can be highly beneficial for improving crop yields and efficiency in the agricultural sector.

The researchers manipulated a molecular switch responsible for the transport of the phytohormone auxin. Auxin acts as a versatile trigger in many aspects of plant development. It promotes the formation of roots from stem cells and coordinates the growth of leaves and fruits. The hormone is produced in young leaves and is then transported from one cell to the next, towards the root formation. “Turning on” the molecular switch results to reduced transport of auxin to the root and therefore, increased accumulation of the hormone in shoots. High concentration of auxin in the young leaves causes meristems or plant stem cells to differentiate as root cells.

In a press release, scientists from the Utrecht University said: “These results are an important step in our understanding of the way plants grow and create novel future possibilities to modify the positioning of various plant organs such as roots, fruits and leaves.” Manipulation of plant architecture may result to crop varieties with increased yield.

Read the complete article at http://www.uu.nl/EN/Current/Pages/Researchergrowsrootsonupperpartofplant.aspx The study appears as an advance online publication of Nature and is available to subscribers at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature07409

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Belgian biotechnology company Devgen announced that it will close its pharmaceutical division in order to focus on its agricultural operations. Devgen has developed a technology position in crop protection and has grown to a fully integrated trait and seed business in Asian markets, with a focus on rice, sorghum, sunflower and pearl millet and a licensing business in other crops. The company has offices in Singapore and Hyderabad, India.

Thierry Bogaert, company CEO, explained that the serious step was taken after consideration of all possible alternatives taking into account the interests of all stakeholders. Devgen will now focus its resources and will further develop in the agro-market segment where "the company has the strongest technology and business opportunities."

The press release is available at http://www.devgen.com/press_detail.php?id=1266812

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