Global

Fifty years of rice research by 2010. The International Rice Research Institute celebrates its golden anniversary as Asia's largest and oldest international agricultural research organization. IRRI Director General Robert Zeigler said IRRI's celebrations will focus on the "enormous challenges faced by poor rice farmers and consumers."

 Among the scheduled events include the launch of IRRI's 50th anniversary by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand on November 17, 2009 at IRRI in Los Baños, Philippines. She will also open the 6th International Rice Genetics Symposium in Manila that same month. The 3rd International Rice Congress is set to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam In November 2010 with the theme Rice for Future Generations. The congress will  include the 28th International Rice Research Conference, 3rd World Rice Commerce Conference, and 3rd International Rice Technology and Cultural Expo.

Email Sophie Clayton for details of the anniversary activities at s.clayton@cgiar.org.

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has unveiled a new tool to monitor the prices of staple food commodities in 55 developing countries. The National Basic Food Prices Data and Analysis Tool is an interactive database that allows users to monitor retail and wholesale food prices both in local currencies and in dollars.  It also allows for price comparisons between domestic and international markets, between different markets in the same country, as well as between countries. The U.N. agency said that the tool was developed as part of its response to high food prices.

Liliana Balbi, senior economist within the agency, said: "The easy-to-use database will be an invaluable source of information for policy and decision-makers in agricultural production and trade, development and also humanitarian work."

The tool showed that although prices of agricultural commodities have fallen internationally, food prices in developing countries have not fallen so fast or at all.

For the complete story, visit http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/10693/icode/ Access the database at http://www.fao.org/giews/pricetool/

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

Diversifying the food basket of farmers from developing countries of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa is the objective of the collaboration agreement between the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the World Vegetable Center (AVRDC). The research institutions will be joining forces to provide small-scale farmers the opportunity to improve their agricultural productivity and income. They will also work together to strengthen crop breeding through the use of agro-biotechnological tools. ICRISAT and AVRDC have collaborated on a project to develop drought-tolerant tomatoes using modern genetic and molecular approaches. Another project aims to develop vegetable varieties that will fit into the cropping schemes of the Sudano-Sahelian zone.

William Dar, Director General of ICRISAT, said: "Many farmers neither have the ability to withstand risks nor the resources to seek technical help from multiple sources. By combining the strengths of ICRISAT and the World Vegetable Center, farmers will be able to choose more crops to grow during different seasons to reduce the risk impact and increase the productivity of their land."

The World Vegetable Center's South Asian Regional Office has recently been established within ICRISAT's headquarters in Patancheru, India.

View the press release at http://www.icrisat.org/Media/2009/media6.htm

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

Africa

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency, has committed US$56 M as supplementary loan to the United Republic of Tanzania. The program is expected to boost agricultural productivity and incomes by supporting the development of smallholder agriculture.

In addition, beneficiaries will have access to agricultural knowledge, technologies, marketing systems and infrastructure. The loan agreement was signed by Ambassador Wilfred Joseph Ngirwa, the Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations Agencies (FAO, IFAD and WFP), and Lennart Båge, IFAD President.

Visit http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2009/13.htm for more information.

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

Small-scale cowpea farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are enjoying better yields and increased profits thanks to improved varieties developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Farmers planting the improved cowpea varieties, which produce more grains for food and fodder, have seen their incomes jump by 55 percent, according to the Nigeria-based institute. The varieties are also resistant to Striga, a parasitic weed that causes up to 80 percent loss in annual cowpea yield in the region. Underground, Striga parts connect to crop roots and feed on them, reducing yield dramatically and sometimes even destroying entire fields.

IITA says that farmers using the improved cowpea varieties earn US $140 more than farmers planting conventional varieties. Some 100,000 farmers in the Borno and Kano states in northern Nigeria and in the Niger Republic have adopted the high-yielding and Striga-resistant varieties.

For more information, read http://www.iita.org/cms/details/news_feature_details.aspx?articleid=2190&zoneid=342

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

Americas

CTNBio, the Brazilian National Technical Commission on Biosafety (CTNBio), has cleared Dow AgroSciences' genetically modified WideStrike cotton for commercial release in Brazil. The transgenic cotton is resistant to important cotton pests such as the fall armyworm, cotton bollworm, tobacco budworm and cotton leafworm. Fifteen members of the biosafety commission's decision-making committee voted in favor of the GM cotton while 5 voted against. CTNBio analyzed the studies conducted by Dow and concluded that WideStrike does not create unreasonable risk to humans or the environment.

For the media release, visit http://www.ctnbio.gov.br/

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

Marie Mason, an environmental activist, was sentenced to 21 years and ten months in prison for her role in an Earth Liberation Front arson at the Michigan State University (MSU) in 1999. Mason's group protested the University's involvement in transgenic research. Aren Burthwick and Stephanie Fultz were also indicted and charged with assisting in a cover-up related to the case and failing to report the arson to authorities.

Prosecutors said that Mason had become a "movement heroine" of a community "whose membership continues to bully, threaten and destroy." They added that they hoped that the sentence showed that there are legal ways to pursue a cause without committing crimes of violence.

Read more at http://www.mediamouse.org/news/2009/02/marie-mason-sentence-elf.php

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

Asia and the Pacific

Researchers from the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH), University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) have recently put into market DNA Amplification System (DAS^TM)), a detection kit for the presence of the deadly strain Eschericia coli 0157:H, gastro-intestinal disease-causing Salmonella and Staphyloccoccus aureaus. The developed kit can also detect the presence of Eschericia coli contamination, which serves as indicator for the presence of bacteria causing gastro-intestinal-related diseases.

The DAS^TM kit is pathogen specific, accurate and a highly sensitive system that utilizes polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology. After binding to very specific primers, small fragments of the DNA segments of the pathogenic microorganisms are amplified into million-fold copies, thus allowing for the detection of the presence of the pathogenic microorganism. The control of pathogens in food production and early detection of microbial contamination are important to ensure food safety and disease prevention. The developed kit, which provides definitive results and does not need for confirmatory tests, can be utilized by the animal industry, food industry, government regulatory agencies, health institutions and quarantine and service laboratories.

The Philippines' Department of Science and Technology together with the UPLB-BIOTECH provided the research grants in the development of this DAS^TM kits. Last March 17-18, 2009, the product developers conducted a training on the use of DAS^TM kits. The event was attended by food manufacturers, researchers, food and feed regulators, and technical people from the quarantine and service laboratories.

For more information email dobiotech@laguna.net or visit http://www.uplb.edu.ph/biotech

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) has submitted an application to the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) for the limited and controlled release of up to 16 genetically modified wheat varieties. Grain characteristics, particularly carbohydrate and protein composition, were altered in the transgenic lines. These characteristics influence baking qualities and nutritional characteristics, such as glycemic index and metabolic health. The GM wheat lines also contain a selectable marker gene (nptII) which confers resistance to certain antibiotics.

If approved, the release will take place in the Australian Capital Territory on a total area of up to 1 hectare between 2009 and 2012. OGTR has prepared a Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan (RARMP) which concludes that the release poses negligible risks to people and the environment. OGTR seeks comment on the prepared RARMP.

For more information, contact ogtr@health.gov.au or http://www.ogtr.gov.au/internet/ogtr/publishing.nsf/Content/dir092

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

The bi-national food agency Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has announced plans to amend certain restrictions of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code- regulations that cover the content, labeling, handling and sale of food in the two countries. FSANZ is seeking comments on an application submitted by Pioneer Hi-Bred for the approval of a genetically modified  (GM) soybean variety for food and feed use. Pioneer's GM soybean expresses GAT4601 and GM-HRA, proteins that confer tolerance to glyphosate and acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides. FSANZ has conducted a safety assessment on this GM soybean, which revealed no public health or safety concerns.

 If approved, food derived from the dual herbicide-tolerant wheat will be required to be labeled as genetically modified if novel DNA and/or protein is present in the final food.

For more information, read http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/_srcfiles/A1006%20GM%20Soybean%201st%20AR%20FINAL.doc To comment on the application, visit http://www.foodstandards.gov.au. 

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

Germany-based Bayer Group plans to invest 100 million baht (approximately US$2.8M) between 2008 and 2012 on hybrid rice development in Thailand. It expects to commercialize hybrid rice seed under the Arize brand in 2011. Currently, Charoen Pokphand Group, the country's largest agriculture company, is one of a handful of active players in hybrid rice technology. Thailand is the world's sixth-largest rice producer but the biggest exporter, shipping 60 percent of output abroad.

For more information from the Biotechnology and Biosafety Information Center (BBIC-Thailand) visit  http://www.safetybio.agri.kps.ku.ac.th/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5015&Itemid=42

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

Inventions in biotechnology are protected under the Thai patent regime which adheres to international standards. The system provides opportunities for inventors and industries to seek protection for various kinds of biotechnological inventions, ranging from novel biotechnology products to processes. Patents for marker genes, diagnostic kits and pharmaceutical products have been issued over the past decade.

Realizing the importance of protecting intellectual property, Thailand aims to boost the number of patents especially in strategic technology areas. The National Biotechnology Policy Framework (2004 - 2009) specifies that in 2009 there will be at least a 200 percent increase in the number of patents registered in the biotechnology area. Under the agricultural biotechnology category, these patents include those related to fertilizer, plant improvement, animal improvement and bio-control products.

More information available at http://safetybio.agri.kps.ku.ac.th/images/stories/pdf/TH-BIOPatent.pdf or http://www.biotechthailand.com/IndProf/TH-BIO/TH-BIO_0809_IP09.pdf

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

For the first time, the Indonesian government will team up with a multinational company to breed and market hybrid rice. DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred was granted access by the Indonesian Center for Rice Research (ICRR) to test and commercialize its rice hybrids in Asia. The hybrid rice varieties will primarily be exported to the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and India. ICRR and Pioneer Hi-Bred signed a memorandum of agreement last Monday at the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Hasil Sembiring, director of the Indonesian Center for Rice Research, said: "It is the government's aim to increase national rice productivity through many strategies, including partnering with private institutions in research and development of hybrid rice." ICCR also plans to collaborate with Metahelix Life Science, India and Advanta International, Australia.

 The agreement complements a collaboration DuPont announced last month with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to increase the rate of yield gains and to boost the quality and diversity of hybrid rice.

For more information, read http://www.pioneer.com/web/site/portal/menuitem.5dda3a9104ca5ef086738673d10093a0/ and http://bbpadi.litbang.deptan.go.id/ (article in Bahasa Indonesia)

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

The President of the Bangladesh National Press Club Shaukat Mahmood appealed to journalists to write on the pros and cons of biotechnology and biosafety issues. This would help better understand the technology and help in decision making for the end users, said the Press President during the launching ceremony of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications' (ISAAA) Global Biotech Status Report at the National Press Club in Dhaka. He added that if "there is proof that biotech crops are not harmful to human health and the environment, we should accept them."

Dr. Abdur Rahman Sikder of the University of California Davis, newspaper representatives of the Daily Shangram, Daily Independent, and Daily Observer, and M. Shahjahan Ali Badsha, Progressive Farmer representative, also echoed the same sentiments to address the food requirements of a country where population is increasing at a geometric rate and land is decreasing at 1.6 percent.  About 60 journalists and scientists attended the session which was presided y Dr A.R. Malik, Managing Director of Alpha Group of Companies . Dr. Malik has a biotech laboratory where 1,200,000 meristem cultured potato saplings are produced per year for quality virus free seed tubers. He expressed interest to grow biotech crops when released by the authority.

For more biotech news, email K. Nasiruddin of the Bangladesh Biotechnology Information Center at nasirbiotech@yahoo.com.

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

Europe

The European Commission has approved Bayer CropScience's genetically modified (GM) T45 rapeseed for use in feed and food across its 27 nations for the next 10 years. The herbicide-tolerant rapeseed, however, is not intended to be grown in Europe's field. The Commission cleared the GM rapeseed after the EU agriculture ministers failed to reach a consensus under the EU weighted voting system.

The Commission granted the approval based on the scientific risk assessment conducted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), EU's independent scientific authority. EFSA found that the GM rapeseed "is unlikely to have any adverse effect on human and animal health or on the environment." Bayer's T45 has been commercially cultivated in Canada for the past ten years.

For more information, read http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/news/423.docu.html

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]

Some of the world's leading scientists involved in biotech research will gather at the Vatican in Rome in May, according to a report by Nature Biotechnology. The meeting has been organized by Ingo Potrykus, president of the Golden Rice Humanitarian Board, on behalf of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The Academy has acknowledged that plant biotech has the potential to benefit the poor. According to the article, participants are expected to issue a definitive declaration and work on a roadmap for science-based regulations for genetically modified crops.

Subscribers to Nature Biotechnology can read the full article at http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v27/n3/full/nbt0309-214a.html

[ Send to a Friend | Rate this Article ]