WORLD EXPERTS AGREE ON BLUEPRINT FOR AGRI
DEVELOPMENT
World experts have agreed on a blueprint
on sustainable agricultural development to reduce hunger
and poverty, and improve environmental protection in
developing countries. They called on governments to prioritize
public expenditures on public goods for rural areas including
research, extension training and education as well as
for them to recognize the vital role of agriculture and
rural communities in country development. This was the
gist of “The Beijing Consensus on the future of
global agriculture and rural areas” released by
the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
In related matters, FAO mentioned the crucial
role of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development,
which it co-chairs with the German Federal Ministry for
Economic Cooperation and Development. This Platform brings
together donor organizations to tackle advocacy work
in the development community. The focus of this initiative
is to reduce poverty and enhance economic growth in developing
countries through improved donor cooperation and harmonization
of approaches and procedures.
Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Nicaragua and Tanzania
were selected as pilot countries to assess procedures
and conditions that would promote a common program and
framework of support at the country level. The assessments
have been completed and detailed proposals for supporting
the harmonization process have been prepared. Eventually,
the Platform hopes that common procedures and agreed
frameworks for donor activities can be developed at the
country level.
More details on the consensus report and
the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development may be
obtained online at http://www.fao.org.
ABARE: AUSTRALIA TO LOSE FROM GM-FREE STANCE
Australian
farmers stand to lose significantly from its country’s
genetically modified-free stance on planting transgenic
canola. This view was forwarded in the article “Transgenic
crops: welfare implications for Australia” published
in the September issue of Australian Commodities.
A
study by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource
Economics (ABARE) said that as much as $3 billion could
be lost by 2015 for Australia’s failure to commercialize
transgenic crops. It noted that Australia will have to
compete with an increasing volume of transgenic grains
and oilseeds in the export market especially with Asia
and South America adopting new transgenic crops. This
will result in lower profitability and lower market share
for conventional grain crops, which the report stated
are more expensive to produce than transgenic varieties.
Although
Australia has approved transgenic canola for commercial
planting, state and territory legislators have established
moratoriums prohibiting the growing of transgenic canola.
View
the ABARE report at http://www.abareconomics.com.
MAINTAINING
NON GM POLICIES EXPENSIVE, SAYS REPORT “GM-avoidance” policies
in the European Union (EU) could result in additional
costs and feasibility problems for the EU food and feed
sector. “The Global GM Market: Implications for
the European food chain: An analysis of labeling requirements,
market dynamics and cost implications” released
by Brookes West and Neville Craddock Associates identifies
numerous food and feed ingredients in the food chain
derived using genetic modification. Among others, the
report notes that:
- The availability of non GM soybeans and derivatives from
Brazil (the largest supplier) is likely to decline in
the next 12 months, resulting in an increase in the price
differential between non GM and GM soy by as much as
25%.
- For livestock product producers (producing meat, milk
and dairy products), the widening price differential,
for a primary feed ingredient, could result in feed costs
rising by between 6% and 10% in the next 1 to 3 years.
- For manufacturers of products such as cooking oils and
margarines, their non use of GM derived ingredients could
add over 16% to raw material costs.
See
the full report online at http://www.pgeconomics.co.uk.
VIETNAM UPS SUPPORT FOR TECH DEVELOPMENT
The
Vietnam government has agreed to invest more resources
in developing information technology, biotechnology,
and engineering sciences. Its Ministry of Science and
Technology is providing human resource training opportunities
and creating favorable conditions for scientists to conduct
research to improve agricultural production and generate
more jobs. Several laboratories for biotechnological
research have already been established.
To
support these efforts, the government has set aside an
amount to promote the sales of scientific and technological
products. A number of technological application projects
have yielded a number of products that have helped improve
health care, increase crop and animal productivity, and
provide additional job opportunities.
For
more news about biotechnology efforts in Vietnam, email
Le Hien of Biotech Vietnam at hienbiotechvn@pmail.vnn.vn.
CORN
ANCESTOR’S POLLEN STUDIED Today’s
corn was developed from a domesticated version of teosinte,
a wild grass. Teosinte originated from Mexico, and is
still being grown there in close proximity to corn. Since
maize to maize gene flow is well documented, scientists
ask if maize to teosinte gene flow is possible and if
teosinte pollen can travel to corn crops. Donald and
colleagues from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment
Station start the investigation by exploring “Some
physical properties of teosinte (Zea mays subsp. parviglumis)
pollen.” Their work appears in the latest issue
of the Journal of Experimental Botany.
Researchers
measured properties of pollen, such as water potential,
settling speed, germination versus water content, drying
rates, and calculated pollen wall conductance. They found
that the smaller size of teosinte pollen could allow
it to travel longer distances from the source. However,
they also found that teosinte pollen is 30-50% more susceptible
to dessication, which would lessen the likelihood of
teosinte outcrossing into conventional maize varieties.
The
data can be helpful in establishing the main factors
influencing the degree and the direction of pollination
between teosinte populations and between maize and teosinte.
Researchers also surmise that their findings can increase
current understanding of the gene-flow process in Mexico
and Central America, where teosinte and maize populations
are still being grown near each other, and flower together.
Subscribers
to the Journal of Experimental Botany can read the article
at http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/56/419/2401.
Other readers can take a look at the abstract at http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/56/419/2401.
MEXICAN MAIZE TRANSGENES ISSUE EXAMINED
Since
2000, several studies have been undertaken in Mexico
to track the presence of transgenes in the local conventional
maize crop. Findings, however, have been mixed. In “Transgenes
in Mexican maize: Desirability or inevitability?” Peter
H. Raven of the Missouri Botanical Garden offers his
opinion on these studies. His essay is published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences online
edition.
Raven
underscores the importance of monitoring the presence
and frequency of transgenes, but asks what social significance
the results of such studies may have, both in the region
concerned and in the world. He puts forth statements
on decades-long studies of genetically modified organisms
(GMO’s), which have hitherto been found to pose
no threat to human health and the environment.
He goes on to state that “the principles of population genetics certainly
do not indicate that [the transgenes] would ‘disrupt’ the germplasm
of the maize populations they might enter,” and concludes that the introduction
of transgenes presents no danger to maize populations in Mexico, or to the
people of Mexico in general.
Raven
also criticizes the lack of dissemination of agronomic
information amongst farmers regarding GMO’s, where
not enough education has been given on the potential
benefits of planting biotech crops “with the view
of achieving higher levels of food production.”
Read the complete article at http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/102/37/13003.
VIRUS-RESISTANT SUGARCANE TESTED
Sugarcane
is an agronomically important crop which is also subject
to a host of pathogens. Its high ploidy level also makes
traditional breeding programs much harder to undertake,
since they require cultivation of thousands of crosses,
and eight to ten years of field testing to produce a
commercial cultivar.
Genetic
transformation of sugarcane is one of the few techniques
available to increase yields and confer disease resistance
to the crop. In view of this, R. A. Gilbert, of the University
of Florida, and colleagues undertook the “Agronomic
Evaluation of Sugarcane Lines Transformed for Resistance
to Sugarcane mosaic virus Strain E.” Their research
is documented in the latest issue of Crop Science.
Sugarcane
Mosaic Virus (SCMV) is a lethal pathogen of sugarcane.
In the study, researchers transformed a total of 386
plants with an untranslatable form of the SCMV strain
E coat protein gene into cultivars CP 84-1198 and CP
80-1827. After field tests of several transformed lines,
they found that transgenics derived from CP 84-1198 had
significantly greater tonnes of sucrose per hectare (TSH)
and significantly lower SCMV disease incidence than those
from CP 80-1827. There were still variations amongst
the crops tested, and researchers recommended more field
tests for transgenic sugarcane to ensure that all plants
would uniformly express the trait.
Subscribers
to the journal can read the complete article at http://crop.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/45/5/2060.
Other readers can take a look at the abstract at http://crop.scijournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/45/5/2060.
FUNGUS CONFERS SALT-RESISTANCE TO PLANTS
The
Indian Thar desert is home to Piriformospora indica,
a plant-root-colonizing fungus recently found to promote
plant growth. Its hosts include rice, wheat, and barley,
and research has shown that “The endophytic fungus
Piriformospora indica reprograms barley to salt-stress
tolerance, disease resistance, and higher yield.” Frank
Waller of the University of Giessen, Germany and colleagues
document their work in the latest issue of the Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences online.
Using
barley as their model organism, researchers allowed P.
indica to colonize roots, then subjected the plants to
salt stress and disease stress. Among others, they found
that P. indica colonizes root cells and enhances yield;
roots show higher antioxidant capacity; and colonization
induces systemic disease resistance, protecting barley
leaves from other fungal infections.
Read
the complete article at http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/102/38/13386.
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EUROPEAN
BIOTECH SYMPOSIUM The
6th European Biotechnology Symposium will be held at the
Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel, Copenhagen, Denmark from
November 13-15, 2005. A highlight of the symposium will
be a session on “Doing the Deal” where European
biobusiness experts share their insights on what makes
partnerships and collaborations a success. Online registration
can be done at http://www.bioconferences.com/ebs.
BIOTHAILAND 2005
The
Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand
is the venue for BioThailand 2005 on February 2-5, 2005.
Ten international conferences which include the International
Conference on BioNanotechnology and the Conference on Biosafety
of Genetically Modified Organisms, will be held during
the week. Other events include a trade exhibition, a bioeducation
exhibit, and an excursion to promote collaboration. For
more details on BioThailand, visit http://biothailand2005.biotec.or.th.
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