ECO MEETS ON NEW AGRI-BIOTECH NETWORK

The first Experts Group Meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) on the establishment of the ECO Agricultural Biotechnology Network (ECO-ABN) was held in Tehran, Iran on the 22nd-24th of April, 2006. The meeting brought together biotech experts from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkey.
The delegates approved the three-year project and work plan for the ECO-ABN. The network aims to unite efforts of biotechnology institutes and international organizations, to enable capacity building and scientific research in the ECO member states. ECO-ABN will be operational within two years.

Also identified were areas for implementation of joint projects, which include the production and propagation of virus-free potato mini-tubers; education on intellectual property rights in biotechnology; harmonization of biosafety protocols and regulations in the ECO region; and the establishment of basic labs and training of staff in ECO member states.

Read the complete press release at http://www.ecosecretariat.org/ftproot/Press_Rls/
2006/04_Biotechnology.htm.

WORLDWIDE SHIFT TO BIOFUELS IMMINENT, FAO SAYS

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) observes that momentum is gathering for a major international switch from fossil fuels to renewal bioenergy. This, the FAO predicts, is due to increased global warming, and a growing perception by governments of the risks of dependence on oil.

“ Over the next 15 to 20 years we may see biofuels providing a full 25 percent of the world’s energy needs,” Alexander Müller, the new Assistant Director-General for the Sustainable Development Department of FAO, says. The FAO recently set up an International Bioenergy Platform (IBEP), which will provide expertise on biofuels and bioenergy. IBEP will be officially presented to the UN on May 9, 2006.

Brazil is currently the world’s top bioethanol producer, and a million Brazilian cars run on fuel made from sugar cane. Bioethanol is currently half the price of a barrel of oil, and can be produced from soy, oil-palm, sugar-beet, and rapeseed. Europe, on the other hand, is the world’s top biodiesel producer. Biodiesel can be made from rapeseed, soy, or sunflower seeds. Various companies, and countries such as Germany and the Ukraine, are considering a big move into biodiesel from these crops and other sources.

For more information, contact Christopher Matthews, Information Officer of the FAO, at christopher.matthews@fao.org. Read the complete news article at http://www.fao.org/newsroom/
en/news/2006/1000282/index.html.

CIRAD ASSESSES COTTON FARMS IN THREE COUNTRIES

Three years ago, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad submitted a negotiating proposal to the World Trade organization (WTO) calling for a ban on the massive subsidies the United States, Europe, and China grant their cotton producers. To understand the issues surrounding the subsidies, research institute CIRAD analyzed the strengths and weakness of cotton production systems in North America, Brazil, and Mali using cost prices, paid labor costs, land costs, and input prices as criteria to determine competitiveness.

The study found that any differences in production systems depended primarily on: 1) cropping practices, 2) the degree of access to inputs and services at the beginning of the production chain, and 3) product marketing conditions. The research also showed that the economic performance of Brazil’s cotton-growing systems was founded on the country’s high yields. The opposite was true in Mali, where low costs per hectare ensure performance. In terms of operating costs, the United States was far from being the most efficient, since American farmers owed their businesses to local state subsidies.

For more information, contact Patricio Mendez del Villar of CIRAD at patricio.mendez@cirad.fr.

BRAZIL TO AID JAPAN WITH ETHANOL

Brazil has agreed to help Japan develop its ethanol industry in a bid to reduce the country’s fuel bill. Brazil's Development, Industry, and Commerce Minister Luiz Fernando Furlan and Japanese Economy, Trade, and Industry Minister Toshihiro Nikai have both agreed to share and exchange ethanol industry information, as well as to assess the possibilities of large-scale imports to Japan in the near future.

Recently, the Japan Alcohol Trading company and Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) established a joint venture to enable Japan to import alcohol made in the South American nation. The new company, called Brazil-Japan Ethanol, will have the exclusive franchise for selling Brazilian ethanol in Japan.

Brazil is the world’s largest ethanol producer, and the only major exporter of the fuel, which is distilled from sugarcane. Read more at http://www.latinpetroleum.com/
article_5745.shtml and http://www.mercopress.com/
Detalle.asp?NUM=7633

AFRICA

NEW WARDA PROGRAM UNITES NATIONAL PARTNERS IN AFRICA

The Africa Rice Center (WARDA) is currently offering a new capacity building program in response to strong demand from its member countries. The program’s major thrust is to develop a new breed of national scientific staff trained in the application of molecular marker-assisted selection techniques as part of a project funded by USAID-West Africa Regional Program (WARP).

This program also involves the participation of Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and the Gambia in their quest to address the problem of rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV). RYMV is unique to Africa, where it can sometimes lead to total crop failure, contributing to famine in areas where rice is an important food staple.

The WARDA-USAID RYMV project is helping research staff from the four countries to use marker-assisted selection techniques to speed up the process of developing RYMV-resistant rice varieties. The first of the series of training programs planned for this project is under way in Cotonou, Benin, in which eight researchers are taking part. In addition to this training program, the project is supporting several doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows from sub-Saharan Africa to undertake research studies in biotechnology.

For more information, visit http://www.warda.org

COFFEE WILT DISEASE RESEARCH ON UPSWING

Dr. James Agwang, Director of the Coffee Research Institute Kitoza, disclosed that his institute is currently testing over 500 varieties of coffee resistant to coffee wilt disease.

According to an article in Uganda’s The Monitor, Agwang spoke before a meeting of researchers from his institute and the CAB International Africa Regional Center in Nairobi, Kenya, where they addressed farmers in Masaka, Uganda. The wilt has destroyed coffee fields in Uganda’s coffee growing district, and is threatening to wipe out the country's most important foreign exchange earner crop.

CABI has also been actively involved in coffee wilt research. Its Regional Coffee Wilt Program (RCWP) is finding ways to combat the disease in coffee producing areas in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. In its final year, the RCWP is set to give more emphasis on field-based farmer training, farmer field schools, and the production and dissemination of printed information materials.

With reports from http://allafrica.com/stories/
200604250922.html. To read more about CAB’s involvement in coffee wilt disease research, visit http://www.cabi.org/
projectdetail.asp?Heading=Projects&projid=69.

EAST AFRICA ORG PROMISES BETTER REPORTING ON AGRICULTURE

A recently formed organization hopes that the field of agriculture gets increased, and improved media exposure in East Africa. The Regional Media for African Agriculture Development (REMAD) was formed after participants at a recent conference in Ethiopia recognized that agriculture was receiving less air time, compared with fields such as politics, leisure, and business.

REMAD aims to rally regional media to ensure that agriculture gets reasonable coverage. Also involved in such a media-related scheme are the West African countries of the Ivory Coast and Ghana, which are expected to rally a range of media houses in the region for the task.

For more information, read the complete article at http://allafrica.com/stories/200604190387.html.

BIOTECH COTTON ON FAST LANE IN KENYA

East African Business Week reports that Kenya is moving toward the introduction of a genetically modified (GM) cotton variety in a bid to revive the country’s cotton production sector. The GM cotton, a Bt variety resistant to cotton bollworm, is currently undergoing contained field trials at a farm in the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Mwea, central Kenya.

The contained field trials will take four months, and aim to evaluate the efficacy of the GM cotton against Bollworm infestation. The trials also seek to evaluate the crop’s economic advantage. All biosafety measures are in place for the trials, which will undergo periodic inspection by members of the country’s National Biosafety Council (NBC) and the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS).

Kenya’s cotton production has been declining since 1986. This is due to many factors, both environmental and economic, including damage by cotton pests, which account for losses of up to 32% of the total cost of production to cotton farmers.

Read the complete article at http://www.busiweek.com/
index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id
=1347&Itemid=9. For more information, visit http://www.kari.org

THE AMERICAS

PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION ESTABLISHED FOR PROMOTION OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN MEXICO

Mexican federal and regional government representatives have created the Parliamentary Association for Rural Development and the Environment, a permanent judicial entity aimed at promoting the technical, organizational, and commercial capacities of the rural sector to achieve competitiveness in international agricultural markets. The move comes in response to concerns of the farming sector on the likely effects of import tax exemptions to be introduced in 2008 for agricultural goods. White maize, beans, sugar, and powdered milk originating from the USA will be exempt from taxes from the 1st of January 2008.

Miguel Luna Hernández, president of the Commission for Rural Development of the House of Representatives, said that many of the commitments pledged by the National Agreement for the Countryside have not been fulfilled, and that the Law for the Sustainable Development of Rural Communities is the subject of numerous violations. The Association will generate proposals to complement institutional initiatives on agriculture, fisheries, rural development, water resources, indigenous communities rights, and the environment.

A quarter of Mexican’s population lives in the countryside, of which 60% lives below the poverty line.

More information is available at: http://www.agricultura.com.mx/cgi-in/modules.php?
name=News&file=article&sid=3411

SAGARPA FORMALIZES SYSTEM FOR VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN MEXICO CITY

SAGARPA, the Mexican Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development, formalized the production system of vegetables in the country’s capital, with the view of improving the livelihoods of over 4,600 urban farmers. Mexico City is one of the largest conurbations of the world, with a population of about 20 million people. The production of vegetables by traditional form, following pre-Hispanic patterns, is not only socially very important, but also represents the third generator of income in the primary activity of the capital. Main crops include broccoli, rosemary, celery, peas, cauliflower, beet, maize, spinach, and carrots. Approximately 39,000 tons of vegetables are produced on about 4,000 hectares of land, in spite of the adverse conditions faced by producers.

In order to support this activity, SAGARPA will integrate efforts in the farming sector to guarantee access to markets, and to organize the different players involved in the production chain, to raise the productivity of the sector and thereby improve the living standard of farmers.

More information (in Spanish) is available at: http://www.sagarpa.gob.mx/cgcs/boletines/2006/
abril/B104.htm

VENEZUELAN SCIENTISTS RECRUIT WORMS TO FIGHT INSECT PESTS

Scientists based at the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) of Venezuela are looking into ways entomopathogenous nematodes, which colonize and cause disease of insects, can help combat insect pests threatening numerous important crops of the country, especially coffee, banana, and strawberries.

These nematodes, of the genus Heterorhabditis, are natural soil inhabitants, and have the peculiarity of carrying symbiotic bacteria that are released in the circulatory fluid (hemolymph) of the pest insect colonized. The bacteria multiply rapidly, killing the insect within two days, while the worm feeds on bacteria and on the disintegrating tissues of the insect, and reproduces by the thousands. Once the food supply runs out, the parasites will seek another host, and start the cycle over again.

María Pacheco del Postgrado and Ángel Torres, scientists from INIA, have evaluated the use of these nematodes to control coffee berry borer, with very satisfactory results. The nematodes attack the insect pest at the larval, pupal, and adult stages, and can be used to combat the pest in berries that have fallen to the ground and are difficult to remove, and represent therefore a significant source of infection for the next crop planted that could be eliminated. These worms can therefore be used as part of an integrated pest control system.

More information (in Spanish) is available at http://www.inia.gov.ve/noticias/040506_01.html.

CORPOICA TO LAUNCH WHEAT PROJECT

The Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research (CORPOICA), with the support of the Program for the Network of Social Solidarity (RESA), the National Federation of Wheat Millers (Fedemol), and the National Federation of Grain Producers (Fenalce), will launch the Guáitara II Project. The three-year initiative, with an initial funding of over US$1.2 million, will benefit 2400 wheat farmers of the department of Nariño. Guáitara II will provide technical assistance to farmers with aims of raising productivity, increasing competitiveness, and with the aim of improving farmers’ food security. The project also intends to raise awareness among farmers on the benefits of improved, soil, water, and land conservation.

Guáitara II kick started on the 25th of April, 2006 with the Land Fair, an event which will bring together national and local authorities, production associations, and the beneficiary farmers for collective planning.

More information, in Spanish, is available at
http://www.corpoica.org.co/Noticias/
vernoticia.asp?id_noticia=691

ASIA

ASEAN, US MEET ON AGRICULTURAL BIOTECH

It is critical for members countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to share and analyze their major concerns and most effective approaches to formulate and enforce policies towards agricultural biotechnology. This view was reinforced by a recent meeting of the ASEAN and United States, as they conducted the “ASEAN-U.S. Roundtable on Agricultural Biotechnology Policy and Strategy,” in Bangkok, Thailand.

This event provided an opportunity for ASEAN and U.S. officials to engage on issues of mutual interest pertaining to agricultural biotechnology and economic development. Presentations tackled issues such as regulatory frameworks, enhanced ASEAN-US partnership, intellectual property rights, and technology transfer.

At the end of the meeting, delegates proposed activities related to: 1) Biotechnology awareness, such as the production of educational materials and regular seminars on biotechnology; 2) Technical training, such as research collaboration; 3) regional dialogue, such as the development of biosafety frameworks and the sharing of information; and 4) work policy and regulatory frameworks.

For more information, visit http://www.biotec.or.th/
roundtable/.

UNESCAP LAUNCHES ENVIRONMENT REPORT

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) will release “The State of the Environment in Asia and the Pacific 2005,” a report that urges Asia-Pacific countries to take immediate action to “green” the region’s economic growth patterns. The official launch will take place at the UNESCAP regional headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 28, 2006.

UNESCAP’s “green growth” approach aims to shift economic growth patterns away from the conventional “grow first, clean up later” approach, toward more ecologically efficient production and consumption. Key findings of the report include: 1) Economy in the region is experiencing rapid growth, but the Asia-Pacific has lower natural resource endowments per capita than other regions; 2) No Asia-Pacific country has achieved significant progress toward meeting Millennium Development Goal 7 – Ensuring Environmental Sustainability; and 3) The inefficient use and rising demand for energy, raw materials, and water is incurring rising economic, social, and environmental costs.

Read the press release at http://www.unescap.org/unis/
press/2006/apr/n19.asp.

RP’S S&T ADVISORY BODY INAUGURATES BIOTECH EXHIBIT

The National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), the Philippines’ highest advisory body on science and technology, recently opened “Bioteknolohiya!” a biotechnology exhibit. Bioteknolohiya! aimed at promoting awareness and understanding of the potential and actual benefits of the safe and responsible applications of modern biotechnology in agriculture, health, industry, and environment in the context of sustainable development. On display at the Bioteknolohiya! are exhibits showcasing products of both traditional and modern biotechnology; as well as a quiz demonstrating the practical application of modern biotechnology in DNA fingerprinting.

The Philippine Science Heritage Center is open to public. For more information about Bioteknolohiya!, please contact Ms. Luningning Samarita secretariat@nast.ph and nast@dost.gov.ph. Visit the SEARCA BIC at http://www.bic.searca.org/.

WHEAT, RYE CROSS MAKES IT BIG IN BANGLADESH

Rice is one of Bangladesh’s foremost crops, and the country’s farmers harvest the grain twice a year. A Danish development agency, Danida, however, is hoping to offer Bengal farmers with another grain option. Danida is involved in on-form trials of triticale, a wheat and rye cross that can benefit farm families who keep dairy cattle.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) has been working on triticale for decades. Triticale leaves and stems are high in protein, making it a good source of animal feed. CIMMYT, Danida, and partners believe that Bengal farmers can grow triticale during the country’s dry season. Farmers can plant it as early as possible after the rice harvest, cut it at 30 days, and again at 50 days. The green triticale cuttings can be used as fodder; and triticale, once mature, can be used to either feed chickens, or can be combined with wheat flour to make chapatti, a South Asian flat bread.

For more information, contact Stephen Waddington at s.waddington@cgiar.org.

EUROPE

FRENCH SENATE ADOPTS GM BILL

The French Senate has adopted the bill regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs), presented last February to the Council of Ministers by François Goulard, the minister for Higher Education and Research. The main purpose of the bill is to introduce into French legislation two European Directives (98/81/CE and 2001/18/CE), aimed at harmonizing European practices in terms of research, use, and marketing of GMOs. The bill introduces a number of new measurements, which include the requirement for increased public information and consultation regarding GMOs, labeling requirements, a limit to 10 years for market authorizations, and the interdiction to use antibiotic genes that may represent a hazard to humans or the environment.

In addition, the three existing advisory authorities for the evaluation of GMOs (the Commissions for Genetic Engineering, for the Study on the Dissemination of Molecular Biology Products, and for Biovigilance) will be fused into a single authority, the Commission for Biotechnology, in order to guarantee a more rigorous and transparent evaluation process. The new authority will also be in charge of analyzing the economic and social implications of the adoption of GMOs.

For more information, visit http://www.premier-ministre.
gouv.fr/information/actualites_20/ogm-projet-loi
-adopte_55297.html and http://www.recherche.gouv.fr/
discours/2006/plogm2.htm

The Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a report on “The first decade of genetically engineered crops in the United States.” It says that the “ultimate contribution of agricultural biotechnology will depend on our ability to identify and measure its potential benefits and risks.” Adoption of US farmers has become widespread for such crops as genetically engineered (GE) corn, soybean, and cotton. The report adds that consumers continue to eat many products derived from GM crops even without knowing of their GE content.

The report examined the three major stakeholders of agricultural biotechnology noting that:

• Seed suppliers/technology providers gained from increased returns to research and investment incentives in crop biotechnology. More than 92 percent of applications for field testing of GE products were approved by the USDA.
• Farmers continue to adopt GE soybean, corn, and cotton, particularly herbicide-tolerant soybeans, herbicide-tolerant cotton, and insect- resistant cotton. They benefit from simplicity and flexibility of the technology, savings in time and additional income from off-farm activities, and lower pesticide use.
• Consumers have concerns about foods containing GE ingredients, but such concerns have not had a large impact on the market for these foods in the US.

An executive summary of the report is available at
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib11/
eib11_reportsummary.pdf. Find the full report at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib11.

ARTICLE LOOKS AT ETHICS IN BIOTECH COMPANIES

With a growing number of cases of corporate governance scandals, as well as declining societal and investor trust in firms, bioscience companies are more and more concerned with ethical issues. Jocelyn E. Mackie and colleagues explore these “Lessons on Ethical Decision Making from the Bioscience Industry” in the latest issue of the Public Library of Science Medicine journal.

By performing more than 100 in-depth, face-to-face interviews with executives at 13 bioscience companies, the research team aimed to uncover how these companies address ethical challenges specific to bioscience firms. Media articles, press releases, and company documents were also analyzed to verify the data resulting from the interviews.

Researchers found that: 1) To address ethical issues, bioscience companies establish ethical leadership, or hire an ethics department; 2) To evaluate ethical issues, bioscience companies consult external expertise and ethics advisory boards; 3) To ensure that ethics issues are well addressed, bioscience companies conduct, among others, employee performance evaluations, ethics education for employees, forums for ethics discussion, and transparent engagement mechanisms with stakeholders; and 4) Bioscience companies address ethics issues because they consider it the “right thing,” want to keep their public reputation, attract and keep the “right employees,” and promote good science.

Read the complete article at http://medicine.plosjournals.org/
perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/
journal.pmed.0030129 or through the DOI link at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030129.

The 28th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals will be held from April 30-May 3, 2006, at the Nashville Airport Marriott Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Hosted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and sponsored by the US Department of Energy, the symposium will provide opportunity for experts from around the world to gather and discuss the latest biofuels research breakthroughs and results .View the complete program at http://www.simhq.org/html/meetings/
BioFuels06/BioBrochure.pdf

IRC TO MEET IN PERU

The International Rice Commission (IRC) will hold its 21st Session from the 3rd-5th of May, 2006, in Chiclayo, Peru. Themed “Rice is Life – Bringing the Implementation of the International Year of Rice to Farmers’ Fields,” the session will discuss ways and means to promote international action on production, preservation, distribution and consumption of rice. Organized by the Ministry of Agriculture of Peru and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the meeting will gather officials from 61 countries, members of the Commission, and partner institutions to present and analyze national rice research and development programs. For more information, contact Sr. Nelson Larrea Lora at nlarrea@minag.gob.pe or Mr. N.V. Nguyen at nguu.nguyen@fao.org.

INDIA TO HOST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

An “International Conference on Agriculture for Food, Nutritional Security, and Rural Growth will be held from May 25-27, 2006 at the Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Center,

New Delhi, India. The conference aims to be a forum in which a road map for food and nutritional security based on sustainable agricultural practices would be evolved on the basis of enlightened deliberations among a distinguished set of speakers and participants.

Over 40 eminent speakers from government/various research institutions and the corporate sector will share their experiences on the subject and approximately 350 participants including postgraduate and doctoral students, and young scientists from India and overseas are likely to deliberate on important issues related to food and nutritional security in the three-day conference. For more information, and to register, visit http://www.teriin.org/events_inside.php?id=17348

The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), with CARE–Norway have prepared ten Practice Briefs. “Aid for Seed Security: Advice for Practitioners” offer tips on how to sustain and strengthen seed systems during disaster response and recovery periods. Up-to-date technical information addresses issues such as introducing new varieties, protecting agrobiodiversity, and exploiting market opportunities during periods of acute and chronic stress. For more information, visit http://www.ciat.cgiar.org/.

IPR POLICY DRAFT OPEN FOR COMMENTS

The South African Department of Agriculture has published a draft Agricultural Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy. The policy, when enacted, will stimulate economic growth by integrating the management of agricultural IPR, encouraging participation of those previously excluded from economic activity, strengthening innovation through research, and pushing the sustainable use and conservation of agricultural biological resources. Readers are invited to make comments on the draft policy. The document is available at http://www.africancrops.
net/News/SA-Agricultural-
IPR-policy-draft-6-(1).doc. Send your comments to: Mammone Tang, Information Officer, Department of Agriculture, Directorate of Genetic Resources Management, MammoneT@nda.agric.za

BIOTECH BOOK AVAILABLE IN SPANISH

The publishing house of the National Institute for Agriculture Technology of Argentina (INTA), in collaboration with ArgenBio, has published a book on biotechnology and crop improvement in Spanish. The publication, entitled “Biotecnología y Mejoramiento Vegetal,” brings together the contributions of over 70 researchers and specialists in different disciplines related to crop improvement. The book includes chapters on tools and methodologies, genomics and its applications, and biosafety. It is distributed free of charge to libraries, and research and university institutions, and is also available online at: http://www.argenbio.org/
h/inicio/index.php.