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FAO SAYS INVEST
MORE IN AGRIC AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
The
Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) called for increased investment in agriculture and rural
areas of developing countries to improve economic opportunities
and reduce hunger where most of the world's poor live.
Speaking
at a recent meeting of world leaders at the United Nations,
Dr. Jacques Diouf said: "Despite a growing body of evidence
that shows most poor and hungry people depend on agriculture
for their livelihoods, many developing countries continue
to spend far too little on agriculture and rural development.
In countries where undernourishment is most widespread, the
share of government spending devoted to agriculture falls
far short of matching the sector's importance in the economy."
As hunger
and malnutrition are both a cause and an effect of poverty,
and 70 percent of the poor live in rural areas, he called
for direct measures to support improved access to food, especially
through income generated by employment in secured, productive
and thus competitive agricultural activities.
According
to FAO studies, investment in rural areas is also necessary
to slow immigration from rural to urban areas. "In fact,"
said Dr. Diouf, "the legitimate concern about rapid urbanization
and the costs this imposes on entire societies may have even
worsened the rural handicap by diverting investments from
rural to urban areas. When investment in agriculture and rural
development is neglected, the rural-urban gap will further
widen and the resulting increase in rural to urban migration
becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."
For
more information, see the FAO online at http://www.fao.org,
or contact John Riddle, the FAO Information Officer, at john.riddle@fao.org.
IITA TRAINS
NIGERIAN POLICY MAKERS ON BIOTECH
About
100 Nigerian top civil servants from the Ministries of Agriculture
and Rural Development, Science and Technology, and Environment
participated in a biotechnology seminar organized at Abuja,
by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA),
under the auspices of the Nigeria Agriculture and Biotechnology
Project (NABP). The seminar aimed at assisting top government
officials to make policy decisions on biotechnology. They
were also enlightened on the contributions of biotechnology
to the socio-economic development of Nigeria especially in
health, medicine, agriculture, food security, human nutrition,
and environmental protection.
In a message
to the participants, Nigeria’s Minister of Environment,
Alhaji Bala Mande said food biotechnology offers a viable
option for achieving food security. He remarked that despite
the potentials of biotechnology, there was still some level
of reluctance and hesitation to embrace it, adding that public
education was an important strategy to achieve acceptability.
He urged Nigerian biotechnology stakeholders to apply the
best practices in the course of research and development on
environmental considerations, while adhering faithfully to
the Nigerian biosafety guidelines.
Dr. Christian
Fatokun, IITA Cowpea Breeder, explained that among NABP’s
objectives are to build national capacity to conduct research
and development for bioengineering of priority crops; develop
the capacity of the national biosafety committee to review
and approve applications for field testing and commercialization
of bioengineered crops; and to develop public awareness and
acceptance of the benefits of biotechnology through balanced
dissemination of information on the benefits and possible
risks. He said the project supports the Federal Government’s
policy to initiate appropriate steps to explore the use of
biotechnology and ensure that Nigeria becomes a key participant
in the international biotechnology enterprise within a decade.
For
more information about the IITA workshop on biotechnology,
contact IITA Taye Babaleye, Head, Public Affairs, at t.babaleye@cgiar.org.
USDA PUSHES BIOTECH INITIATIVES FOR AFRICA
The United
States Department of Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced
several initiatives that will be implemented in Africa to
strengthen biotechnology research and development. In a keynote
address during the 7th Annual AfriCANDO Trade and Investment
Symposium held in Miami, Florida, USA, Veneman said a U.S.
private and public sector team of cotton experts will travel
to West Africa to look into the cotton industry. The team
will recommend how best West African cotton industries can
become more efficient and competitive. This will serve as
a model for cooperation in other parts of Africa.
A second
activity will be a follow-up conference later this year in
Mali to be hosted by West African countries that attended
the Burkina Faso Ministerial. In addition, the US will help
West Africa achieve its goal of creating a regional African
Center of Excellence for Biotechnology. A variety of technical
assistance, training, and cooperative research, exchange,
and development programs will be provided to facilitate and
accelerate the transfer and adaptation of biotechnology to
the region. Guidance on establishing appropriate biotechnology
standards and regulatory systems will be provided as well.
For the
full transcription of Veneman’s talk, visit
http://www.usda.gov/Newsroom/0398.04.html
SYNGENTA RESUMES
SALE OF GM SEEDS IN SOUTH AFRICA
After
voluntarily halting the sale of genetically modified corn,
Syngenta has resumed selling to South African farmers. It
stopped selling after Biowatch, an organization against gene-altered
crops, appealed a government decision to allow the company
to sell seeds. A board of legal and agricultural experts convened
by the high court dismissed Biowatch’s request for appeal.
Ken Flower,
managing director of Syngenta’s South African unit,
said that the company is back to selling and distributing
seeds. The company will comply with the appeal board ruling
for “additional monitoring and research” of crops.
See
the full report at
http://mywealth.co.za/index.php?fSectionId
=568&fArticleId=2235136
ESOF PROVIDES
FORUM FOR NON-EU SCIENTISTS
The EU
must identify obstacles to global collaboration and address
them, urged non-European scientists from Japan, the US, and
South Africa, at The first EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF2004),
held at Stockholm, Sweden, on August 25-28th 2004. More than
1,800 persons participated (of which 350 were international
journalists), in the first pan-European scientific meeting
staged to provide an interdisciplinary forum for open dialogue,
debate, and discussion on science and technology in society.
Kiyoshi
Kurokawa from the Science Council of Japan explained that
in an increasingly global world that is experiencing dramatic
advances in science and technology, three global issues need
to be addressed: population growth; the stress on the environment
due to population growth, and the North-South dichotomy.
Presenting
the view of the developing world, Khotso Mokhele from South
Africa explained that the reality in developing countries
is political indifference, or, at best, ambiguity towards
science. 'We are counting a lot on the EU to change this state
of affairs,' said Mokhele.
Responding
to Mokhele's address, an EU official in the audience explained
that only 17 million of a 32 million euro fund has so far
been used, mainly because the projects presented by developing
countries are often not up to the required standards. He also
regretted the fact that European scientists are often unaware
of this money and of the possibility of including developing
countries in their consortium. He therefore called on EU scientists
to include scientists from developing countries in their collaborative
work.
Read
the full article at http://dbs.cordis.lu/fep-cgi/
srchidadb?CALLER=NEWS_ERA&ACTION=D&QM
_EN_RCN_A=22542. Visit the official website of the ESOF
2004 Conference at http://www.esof2004.org.
ARS LEADS
IN ASSESSING TRANSGENICS
The assessment
of safety is integral to the regulatory system to ensure the
safety of genetically modified organisms. Hence, the Agricultural
Research Service (ARS) of the US Department of Agriculture
has taken a lead role in biotechnology risk assessment research.
John Radin,
ARS national program leader for plant physiology and risk
assessment, said that biotechnology risk assessment research
is high priority. Several areas of risk assessment that ARS
is doing research on are: creating more specific ways to transfer
only desired genes, developing new models for doing risk assessments,
finding ways to limit spread of transgenes, discovering ways
to prevent new allergens from being created, ensuring that
nontarget organisms are not put at risk by a GEO, and carrying
out long-term monitoring to spot any emerging resistance to
transgenic traits.
The ARS
is also developing better methods that may serve as models
for resistance monitoring in conventional pest controls as
well as in transgenic crops. For instance, it is working on
identifying genes that may control insect resistance to Bt.
Another area is exploring ways to manipulate the DNA of genetically
altered plants so that the transgene is deleted or inactivated
during the physiological process of pollen production. Still
another activity is assessing the potential for new allergens
in food, which is integral to the process of reviewing transgenic
plants.
For
more information about ARS activities related to assessing
transgenics, visit http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/
archive/sep04/trans0904.htm.
JAMAICA TO
DRAFT BIOTECH ROAD MAP
The Scientific
Research Council in Jamaica reports that Caribbean experts
are preparing to draft a regional road map for the commercialization
of biotechnology. The region, however, requires a regulatory
framework, testing facilities as well as competence to carry
out risk assessments. It also needs focused strategies and
developmental plans aimed at commercializing biotechnology-derived
products.
In addition,
the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) and the Free
Trade Areas of the Americas (FTAA) Agreement are two trade
initiatives being formally adopted by member states to facilitate
access to wider global markets and the free movement of good,
personnel and services. These developments highlight the need
for protocols to guide the use of biotechnology in the Caribbean
and to draft a road map for its commercialization.
An
e-discussion has been set up to help Jamaica develop its biotech
roadmap. For those interested to join this e-discussion, visit
http://www.src-jamaica.org/forum
or email Audia Barnett of SRC at AudiaB@src-jamaica.org.
GE LINSEED
PRODUCES HEALTHIER OMEGA 3 AND 6 FATTY ACIDS
In an
article in this month’s The Plant Cell, Ernst Heinz
at the University of Hamburg (Germany) and colleagues succeeded
in producing genetically modified linseed plants that accumulate
significant levels of very long chain poly-unsaturated fatty
acids (PUFA) in seed.
In the
study, DNA coding sequences for the genes for fatty acyl desaturases
and elongases from plant and algal organisms that produce
very long-chain PUFA were introduced into linseed and tobacco
plants, and expression of the proteins directed into the seed
with the use of seed-specific gene promoter sequences. In
addition to the possibility of providing healthier, more nutritious
oils for human consumption, this work will lead to the production
of high quality animal feed that could improve the PUFA content
of animal products such as meat, eggs, and dairy foods.
Increased
consumption, in particular of the very long chain PUFA such
as those found in fish oils, has been linked to a decreased
risk of heart disease; protection against inflammatory diseases
such as arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome and some cancers;
and the promotion of healthy brain and eye development in
infants. However, it is recommended that consumption of many
types of fish be limited due to depletion of worldwide fish
stocks, as well as widespread contamination with pollutants,
such as heavy metals and dioxins.
Download
the full text of the article, “Biosynthesis of Very-Long-Chain
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Transgenic Oilseeds: Constraints
on Their Accumulation” at http://www.plantcell.org
DUST IN THE
WIND NO MORE
A recent
study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists reports
that dust can serve as a fingerprint for the soil from which
it originates, providing information on soil type and farming
practices used on the field from which it blew.
ARS microbiologist
Veronica Acosta-Martinez and soil scientist Ted Zobeck, both
at the agency's Cropping System Research Laboratory in Lubbock,
Texas, fed different soil samples into their own dust-generating
machine, which works by applying kinetic energy by gravity
to a dust source sample to generate dust. Samples were taken
from agricultural soils with a history of continuous cotton,
or cotton rotated with peanut, sorghum, rye, or wheat; and
under different water management (irrigated or dryland) and
tillage (conservation or conventional) systems.
The dust
samples showed activities of ß-glucosidase, alkaline
phosphatase, and arylsulfatase, which are related to cellulose
degradation and phosphorus and sulfur mineralization in soil,
respectively. They were also able to identify the type of
tillage and the crop rotation used on the field.
As more
information becomes available on dust characteristics, conservationists
and land planners will be able to pinpoint areas and practices
that are causing most of an area's wind erosion. These techniques
may also help to assess the relationship between these biochemical
properties of dust and the soil sources, in order to evaluate
their potential as biochemical fingerprints of the soil source.
View
the full article online at http://jeq.scijournals.org/
cgi/content/full/33/5/1653.
INDIA’S
NCL WORKING ON PEST-RESISTANT CROPS
The plant
molecular biology unit of the biochemical sciences division
of the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) at Pune, India is
working on enhancing industrially important crops such as
chickpea, cotton, sunflower, tomato, pigeonpea, and okra through
identifying proteinase inhibitors (PIs), which could be used
to develop pest-resistant varieties of crops.
According
to the NCL team, the process involves using the PIs to block
the digestive capabilities or reproductive potential of certain
agricultural pests. This is achieved by transferring the genes
responsible for PI production to plants that do not naturally
produce a particular critical PI.
One
such pest, the Gram Pod Borer (Helicoverpa armigera),
is responsible for destruction of chickpeas. "We found
that the Pod Borer disarms the host plant's natural defense
mechanism by inactivating PIs, and then feeds on them,"
scientist Vidya Gupta said.
As the
PI found in the host plant was ineffective, "we screened
several other plants that were resistant to the particular
pest, and then identified PIs from them". Studies revealed
that when these PIs from winged bean, bitter gourd, capsicum,
to name few crops, were fed to the Pod Borer, its growth and
egg-laying/hatching abilities were dramatically retarded.
Visit
the NCL at http://www.ncl-india.org/index.jsp
GREEN ENERGY
GETS TAPPED IN SPINACH
Another
type of biotechnology is underway at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, where Shuguang Zhang of the institute’s
Laboratory of Molecular Self-Assembly has integrated a protein
complex, derived from spinach chloroplasts, with organic semiconductors
to make a solar cell that can be combined with solid-state
electronics: an electronic device that uses spinach to convert
light into electrical charge.
Inspired by the light transfer reactions that drive photosynthesis
in plants, the device developed by Zhang uses the same process
to feed electrons into organic semiconductors aligned on top
of a layer of glass.
Zhang's
team managed to artificially stabilize the protein complex
at the heart of their system - comprised of 14 protein subunits
and hundreds of chlorophyll molecules - using synthetic peptides
to bind small amounts of water to it, within a sealed unit.
The resulting cells are much thinner and lighter than existing
solar panels and could eventually be used to make much more
efficient panels, says Zhang. Although the prototype device
can't rival commercial solar cells made of silicon, it demonstrates
a new strategy for making longer-lasting photovoltaic cells.
The system
is far from perfect, however. The peptides used keep the protein
complex stable only for about three weeks, and the cells convert
only 12% of light to electrical charge. But Zhang says efficiency
could be boosted dramatically by layering numerous cells on
top of one another, as they will still let some light through.
Visit
Shuguang Zhang’s laboratory online at http://web.mit.edu/lms/www/
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