GLOBAL FAO
SAYS “WORLD HUNGER INCREASING”
There are more hungry people in the developing world today than in 1996. “Far
from decreasing, the number of hungry people in the world
is currently increasing – at the rate of four million
a year,” said Food and Agriculture Director-General
Jacques Diouf during the launch of the annual FAO report “The
State of Food Insecurity in the World”.
Diouf reminded
the audience in Rome that despite a pledge made by leaders
of 185 countries during the 1996 World Food
Summit in Rome to reduce the number of undernourished people
by half, the situation remains “unacceptable and intolerable”.
The FAO report recommended ways to solve the problem of world
hunger. These include focusing programs and investments
on “hotspots” of
poverty and undernourishment; enhancing the productivity
of smallholder agriculture; creating the right conditions
for private investment, including transparency and good
governance; making world trade work for the poor, with
safety nets put
in place for vulnerable groups; and a rapid increase
in the level of Official Development Assistance (ODA)
to 0.7
percent
of GDP.
See FAO’s release at
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000433/index.html
IFPRI
ASSESSES AGRIC R & D IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Poor countries may no longer be able to depend on spillovers of new agricultural
technologies and knowledge from richer countries, especially
advances related to enhanced productivity of staple foods.
As a consequence, developing countries continued use of
current agricultural R & D policies may leave them “agricultural
technology orphans” and may cause serious food deficits. “Agricultural
R & D in the developing world: Too little, too late?” edited
by Philip Pardey and colleagues of the International Food
Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), makes this assessment.
The book goes on to say that developing countries may have
to become more self-reliant and perhaps more dependent
on one another for the collective benefits of agricultural
R&D
and technology. While countries like South Korea, Brazil,
China, and India are gaining from productive and self-sustaining
local research sectors, other countries in Asia and Africa
are facing serious funding and institutional constraints
that inhibit the effectiveness of local R&D.
Read
the full report at http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/books/oc51.asp.
USAID
GRANTS US$9M FOR SORGHUM, MILLET RESEARCH
The US Agency for International
Development (USAID) has given a grant of US$9 M to the
International Sorghum and Millet Collaborative Research
Support Program (INTSORMIL) based at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln to continue its research work in Africa,
Central America, Eurasia, and the US.
The global collaborative
effort enables plant breeders from U.S. land-grant universities
to work with researchers in
host countries through education, mentoring and collaborative
research. It works to improve nutrition and natural resource
management and to increase income in developing countries,
while developing new technologies to improve sorghum and
pearl millet production and its use worldwide.
For more
information on INTSORMIL visit http://intsormil.org/.
NANOCLAYS
FOR IMPROVED CORN, SOY BIOPLASTICS
Iowa State University researchers are using high powered ultrasonics to make
stronger plastics from corn and soybeans. With the experimental
method, David Grewell and colleagues are trying to add
very small clay particles, called nanoclays, to reinforce
the plastic molecules.
Biodegradable and biorenewable plastics
are made by mixing glycerin and water to corn and soy
proteins. The bioplastics
can be used as disposable wrap for hay bales, as pots for
plants, and in food packaging. The material may also have
direct industrial use. The Iowa State researchers are collaborating
with private companies to test the bioplastic products
in actual applications.
For the complete press release:
http://www.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2006/oct/bioplastics.shtml
WINTER
WEED EARNS NEWFOUND RESPECT
Long
considered as a weed by soybean farmers, the field pennycress
Thlaspi arvense is now being eyed by Agricultural Research
Service (ARS) scientists as both a biodiesel resource and
biobased fumigant. Oil from the seed of pennycress has
been found to be similar to other biodiesel resources such
as animal fats and soybean and sunflower oils in terms
of long-chain fatty acid composition. By treating it as
another crop, soybean farmers can use their land to produce
fuel in the winter from pennycress and food in the summer
from soybeans. ARS researchers also observed that crushed
seed left over from biodiesel production inhibited the
germination of sicklepod and other weeds, making the pennycress
seedmeal a potential source of natural fumigant.
Read
the complete press release at http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=1261.
FOOD
COMPANIES DEPRIVE CONSUMERS OF BIOTECH BENEFITS
Some food companies may be too rash in dismissing biotech foods when in fact
they are depriving consumers of an opportunity for safer
and superior food products. In a recent issue of Nature
Biotechnology, Henry Miller of Stanford University and
colleagues presented in the article “Why spurning
food biotech has become a liability” some of the
positive effects of using biotechnology in food production
and processing, and what food companies should know.
In the advent of modern biotechnology, new products might
have come out of the market that would have offered the
food industry a proven and practical means of tackling
problems
such as fungal contamination, allergenic reactions to
food, and pesticide poisoning at their source. The obstacle
lies
on the unfounded risks of biotech foods and the perceived
benefits of nonbiotech foods. However, the use of organic
ingredients poses greater risks of pesticide poisoning
and mycotoxin contamination, as organic crops are prone
to colonization
by killer fungi and therefore require frequent pesticide
applications.
Readers can access the complete commentary “Why
spurning food biotech has become a liability” at
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v24/n9/full/nbt0906-1075.html.
KFC SWITCHES TO LOW LINOLEIC SOYBEAN OIL TO REDUCE TRANS FATS
Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), a global chicken fast food company joins Kellog
Company in announcing the use of low-linolenic soybeans
to reduce or eliminate trans fats in its products. The
switch to the new oil to replace partially hydrogenrated
soybean oil will be completed by April 2007. Trans fat
has been shown to increase the risk for heart disease.
Monsanto
reports that low-linolenic soybeans contain less than
three percent linolenic acid as compared to the typical
eight percent level found in traditional soybeans. The
result
is more stable soybean oil, with less need for hydrogenation,
which produces trans fats.
The conversion took over two years of extensive testing
of oil options to identify the same taste profile identified
with KFC products.
Read more on KFC’s use of linoleic
soybean oil at http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20061030/NEWS99/61030012.
A related article is at http://www.monsanto.com
AFRICA
LOST
CROPS OF AFRICA
Bambara, lablab, enset, okra, moringa are just some of the vegetables that
are considered as ‘lost crops of Africa’. In
Africa, where more than 300 million hungry mouths must
be fed, no more than a couple dozen species of crops have
been considered as staple food, and most of them are not
native to Africa.
In a report by the United States National
Academies, 18 African crops are deemed by a team of experts
as suffering from lack
of attention, research and funding. These range from enset,
a mammoth herb almost unknown outside Ethiopia, to okra,
a more common side dish. The group, headed by Nobel Peace
Prize winner Norman Borlaug, believes that developing native
crops will help combat malnutrition, ensure that more Africans
have something to eat every day, and make farmers some
money while being gentler on the land. As a result, they
may cause
less erosion and help preserve the ecology and genetic
heritage of the continent.
Read the complete news article
at http://www.nature.com/news/2006/061030/full/061030-7.html.
THE AMERICAS
BRAZIL:
BIOSAFETY IN SLOW MOTION
“The possibilities for Brazil to arrive at new decisions pertaining
the commercial release of biotech crops this year is practically
null”, says Walter Colli, president of the Biosafety
Commission of Brazil, CTNBio. According to the law, the
approval of a new commercial release requires 18 favorable
votes, and the presence of at least two thirds of the 54
members of the Commission. The high level of absentees
during the last meetings has resulted in the impossibility
to vote on the approvals requests under examination.
According to Leila Oda, president of the Brazilian National
Biosafety Association (ANBio), the problem lies in the
fact that the Commission is composed of two groups: one
that is
committed to speeding the process of approvals, and the
other that intends to delay it. “The biotechnology research
community should not be at the mercy of an agency that fails
to deal with the evaluation and approval of their research
efforts”, writes Oda. “How does the government
intend to make biotechnology a great ally if it does not
provide conditions to place these products in the hands of
the Brazilian citizen?” This delay results in great
economic and environmental losses to the country, and it
is therefore necessary to reflect on the risks of not having
the technology, in addition to evaluate risks associated
with introducing them.
For more information write to Leila Oda at: cadastro@anbio.org.br.
Read the full article at: http://www.anbio.org.br. Contact
Leila Oda at: cadastro@anbio.org.br.
SOYBEAN
WEED FOUND SUITABLE FOR PRODUCING BIODIESEL
A weed commonly seen at soybean fields in the U.S. Midwest has a potential
use for biodiesel production. The weed, called pennycress
(Thlaspi arvense), can also be used as source of fertilizer
and soil fumigant, said the scientists at the National
Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR), Illinois.
The seed of pennycress is 36 to 40% oil by weight. The
long-chain fatty acids from its oil are similar to soybean
and sunflower
oils, which are common sources of biodiesel. Terry Isbell
and colleagues at NCAUR note that after soybean production
in the summer, farmers can keep the weed on the fields
during winter for fuel production.
The complete press release is
at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2006/061101.htm
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
GM
COTTON APPROVED IN NORTHERN AUSTRALIA
Five transgenic cotton varieties were approved for commercial release in northern
Australia last week. The Australian government through
the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator issued a license
to Monsanto Australia Ltd., allowing the company to grow
the herbicide and/or insect resistant varieties without
any containment measures.
The approved varieties include Bollgard® II (MON15985),
Roundup Ready® (MON1445), Roundup Ready Flex® (MON88913),
Bollgard® II/Roundup Ready® (MON15985/MON1445),
and Bollgard® II/Roundup Ready Flex® (MON1445/MON88913).
For
more information please visit http://www.ogtr.gov.au/ir/dir066.htm
PAPER
ASSESSES APPROVAL RATE OF GM CROPS IN AUSTRALIA
Two probable reasons for the slow approval of commercial planting of transgenic
crops in Australia are community perceptions about the
risks associated with transgenic technologies, and the
regulatory framework currently used to approve them. These
are forwarded in a paper “Risk assessment and management
of genetically modified organisms under Australia’s
Gene Technology Act” by Nicholas Linacre and colleagues
at the International Food Policy Research Institute.
Linacre
and co-researchers describe the regulatory structure
in Australia and examine some of the potential regulatory
issues that may affect the review process and approval
of
transgenic technologies.
Download a PDF copy of the full
paper at http://www.ifpri.org/divs/eptd/dp/eptdp157.asp
JOINT
VENTURE TO DEVELOP HIGH AMYLOSE WHEAT
Australia’s Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) declared
its support towards the development and commercialization
of high amylose wheat.
Starch from this type of wheat contains
more than 50% amylose. This proportion is about 20% more
than the regular wheat
varieties.
High amylose starch was found to help in preventing obesity,
diabetes and colorectal cancer. This specialized wheat
variety has been under development for several years. The
original
investors are Australia’s CSIRO and Biogemma (a subsidiary
of Limagrain).
The complete press release is at:
http://www.grdc.com.au/whats_on/mr/south
/southern_region06031.htm
BT BRASSICAS FOR FIELD TESTING IN NEW ZEALAND
Scientists at the New Zealand
Institute for Crop & Food Research have applied for
a permit to field test genetically modified vegetable Brassicas
expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins. Bt kills
caterpillar pests of Brassica without the need to use synthetic
pesticides.
Among the Bt Brassicas developed
by the group of Mary Christey are kale, cabbages, cauliflower
and broccoli. These vegetable
Brassicas are to be tested in the Canterbury area. New
Zealand has existing regulations for field testing genetically
modified
crops. The Crop & Food Research has also conducted
more than 34 field tests of genetically modified crops
in the
country.
For the complete press release
please visit http://www.crop.cri.nz/home/news/index.jsp EUROPE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT HOSTS PUBLIC
HEARING ON BIOTECH
The European Parliament hosted
a public hearing last October to tackle pertinent issues
regarding European agriculture. Public perception on
biotechnology ran a wide gamut with European consumers
and the academic and scientific sector occupying opposite
ends of the spectrum. In the latest survey done across
the European Union, majority of consumers said they were
against genetically modified organism (GMOs) due to fears
that GMO crops can damage biodiversity and be a danger
to human health. However, the scientific community presented
a dissenting opinion. According to Jussi Tammisola, an
academic and leading advisor to the Finnish government
on the issue, some opportunities GMOs could offer included "the
creation of aromatic rice and wheat, edible vaccines
for asthma or allergies and breeding corn that is resistant
to pests and (be a source of ) biofuels".
Getting
information across is therefore very crucial and Irish
Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Mairead McGuinness
for the European People's Party summed it up by saying
that scientists "have a duty to come out of their
labs more frequently to explain their activities to ordinary
citizens."
For the press release on the
public hearing, readers can visit http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/
story_page/032-11626-283-10-41-904-20061012STO11625
-2006-10-10-2006/default_en.htm.
ENGINEERING
ROOT-KNOT RESISTANCE IN PLANTS
Root-knot nematodes (RKN) are the most economically important group of plant-parasitic
nematodes worldwide, attacking nearly 2000 species of crop
and fiber plants. The nematode invades plant roots, and
by feeding on the roots’ cells, they cause the roots
to grow large galls, or knots, damaging the crop and reducing
its yields. Led by professor Richard Hussey, researchers
from the University of Georgia, Iowa State University,
and North Carolina State University engineered root-knot
nematode resistance in transgenic plants by silencing or ‘knocking
out’ an essential gene that causes the nematode to
become parasitic. The result of their study is published
in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences (PNAS).
The research group described experiments
to silence the parasitism gene 16D10 in root-knot nematode,
and they confirm that the
gene is essential for root-knot nematode to exhibit parasitism.
In addition, expression of the same regulator for 16D10
in Arabidopsis resulted in resistance against the four
major
RKN species. The results of silencing of parasitism gene
16D10 in RKN could lead to the development of crops with
broad resistance to this destructive pathogen.
Readers can
access the full article, “Engineering broad
root-knot resistance in transgenic plants by RNAi silencing
of a conserved and essential root-knot nematode parasitism
gene” at http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/103/39/14302.
For the abstract, visit http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/103/39/14302.
RESEARCH OUTLOOK IN MANGO ANTHRACNOSE
CONTROL
Anthracnose is considered as the most important disease of mango worldwide.
It is caused by the fungi Glomerella and there is no method
that can effectively control it. The disease affects mango
fruits and several parts of the tree.
Chrys Akem at the
Horticulture and Forestry Science, Australia presented
possible research areas to find better ways of
controlling this disease. In his review, published by the
Plant Pathology Journal, he stated that there’s a need
to 1) identify more effective chemicals that target the fungi,
2) better understand the causal organism, and 3) screen large
germplasm collections of mango for inherent resistance for
use in breeding programs.
Currently, the options for preventing
the disease under field conditions include suitable cultural
management practices,
and the use of chemicals. After harvesting, fruits can
be treated by dipping them in hot water, using fungicides,
or
by keeping them in cold storage.
To read the complete article
please visit:
http://ansijournals.com/ppj/2006/266-273.pdf
MODIFIED FLORAL DIP METHOD FOR ARABIDOPSIS
TRANSFORMATION
The floral dip method is a very efficient way of transforming Arabidopsis
but it requires large volumes of the Agrobacterium culture
in liquid media. European researchers reported that an
efficient floral dip method can also be performed by using
bacteria that were cultured on plates. The modification
on the transformation procedure was described by Elke Logemann
and colleagues in their paper published in the journal
Plant Methods.
One advantage of using bacterial plates is
they can be kept at 4oC for days. The bacteria is available
anytime until
the plants reach the optimum stage for transformation. "This
makes it much easier to synchronize Agrobacterium and plants
for transformation", wrote the researchers.
The complete
article can be accessed at
http://www.plantmethods.com/content/pdf/1746-4811-2-16.pdf
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N N O U N C E M E N T S |
ANNUAL MEETINGS
OF AMERICAN SOCIETIES
The annual meetings of the American Society Of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science
Society Of America (CSSA), And Soil Science Society Of
America (SSSA) will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana, 12-16
November 2006. The event will bring together people representing
academia, government and private industry, including a
large contingent of undergraduate and graduate students.
This year’s themes are “Information that Sustains
the World” (ASA), “Science for a Sustainable
Bioeconomy” (CSSA), and “Soil Science in a
Changing Climate” (SSSA). Also in conjunction with the Societies' Annual Meetings
will be the annual research conference of the U.S. Canola
Association (USCA).
More information on these events is available:
http://www.acsmeetings.org
REGIONAL
WORKSHOP ON BIOSAFETY RESEARCH FOR THE RELEASE OF GM
CROPS
The International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) together
with the Sudanese Ministry of Science and Technology is
organizing a regional workshop, “Principles of Biosafety
Research for the Release of Genetically Engineered Crops”,
slated on 4-9 February in the following year. Prospective
participants can request information and applications through
i.eujayl@cgiar.org.
For more information, visit http://www.icgeb.org/MEETINGS/CRS07/Meetings2007.htm.
MEETING ON
BIOSAFETY OF PLANT PRODUCTION IN ROME
The Marche Polytechnic University in Aula Magna Rectorate Piazza Roma will
be the venue for a meeting on "Biosafety of plant
production: technology, development, innovation, environment
and health" on November 23, 2006. Organized in collaboration
with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization,
COST and SAPIO Research Award, it is linked with an interdisciplinary
training program supported though a technical cooperation
project under UNIDO. For more information about the training
program, visit http://ingweb.unian.it/Agraria/Engine/
RAServePG.php/P/2770130214.
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