GLOBAL
CLIMATE CHANGE WILL AFFECT FOOD AVAILABILITY, SAYS
FAO
Climate change will directly affect future food availability
to feed the world’s growing population, the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said at the opening
of a United Nations climate change conference in Nairobi,
Kenya. Addressing a scientific and technical body,
Castro Paulino Camarada, FAO Representative in Kenya,
highlighted FAO’s readiness to provide technical
support in helping to mitigate the effects of climate
change in a number of areas: bioenergy, forest management,
and climate change adaptation.
FAO has been advocating the use of biofuels to provide
an abundant supply of clean low-cost energy, better
forest management practices, and research for the improvement
of resilience of crop systems to climate variability.
Camarada stressed that greater attention must be given
to the impact of climate change on agriculture, forestry
and fisheries, and on mitigation and adaptation measures.
Read FAO’s press release at
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/
news/2006/1000436/index.html.
‘NUTRIGENOMICS’ – NEXT GENERATION AG BIOTECH
TREND
What future next-generation applications can be expected
in agricultural biotechnology? Personalized nutrition
based on individual genetics, pharmaceuticals from
alfalfa, drought-tolerant plants, and improved bioenergy
sources – these were some potential products
discussed in a symposium in Minneapolis, USA.
Nutrigenomics or applying genetic science toward human
nutrition and health is expected to play a more prominent
role in making these future products possible says
Chuck Muscoplat, faculty member of the University of
Minneapolis College of Medicine and former Dean of
the College of Agriculture.
Muscoplat explained that “compounds from food
can be studied and developed as modulators of gene
expression rather than as simple nutrients for basic
nutrition”. Examples include addition of folate
in the diet of pregnant women, and genistein, an isoflavone
compound
in soybeans, that act as antioxidants.
For a PDFof the article go to:
http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2006/artspdf/nov0605.pdf
UNIV OF IDAHO AND ECO-ENERGY TO DEVELOP OILSEED CROPS
The University of Idaho and Gibraltar-based Eco-Energy
Ltd. have joined forces to develop high-value oilseed
crops worldwide for alternative fuel production. Idaho
researchers led by Jack Brown will develop new varieties
tailored for global adaptation with high oil yield
for all climatic and environmental conditions.
"We are perhaps unique in our approach to bioenergy.
We are developing plants which are specifically designed
to be liquid energy sources," said Brown. The
oil produced from these crops will have specific characteristics
suitable for making the highest quality biofuel. The
crushed meal left over after the seed oil is extracted,
can be used as a high protein livestock feed or even
a soil pesticide.
Eco-Energy hopes to be able to assist developing countries
through oilseed production for biodiesel through direct
planting and seed-crushing management.
For additional information, visit http://www.uidaho.edu.
NEW FINDINGS HELP IRON OUT
PROBLEM OF IRON DEFICIENCY
Biologists now know where
and how some plant seeds store iron, a valuable discovery
for scientists working
to improve the iron content of plants. After mining
the model plant Arabidopsis for clues, researchers
in the United States found that iron resides in
the developing vascular system of the seed, particularly
in the vacuole, a plant cell's central storage
site.
The researchers also learned this localization
depends on a protein called VIT1, known to transport
iron
into the vacuole. The research helps address the worldwide
problem of iron deficiency and malnutrition in humans. "Iron
deficiency is the most common human nutritional disorder
in the world today, afflicting more than 3 billion
people worldwide," said Mary Lou Guerinot, a biologist
at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and the principal
investigator on the study. "Most of these people
rely on plants for their dietary iron, but plants are
not high in iron, and the limited availability of iron
in the soil can limit plant growth. Our study suggests
that iron storage in the vacuole is a promising, and,
before now, largely unexplored target for increasing
the iron content of seeds. Such nutrient-rich seeds
would benefit both human health and agricultural productivity."
Access the news release through
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?
cntn_id=108150&org=olpa&from=news.
AFRICA
COCOA PRODUCTION IMPROVES IN WEST AFRICA
Farmers who participated in the farmer field school
scheme on integrated crop and pest management on cocoa
initiated in Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana,
and Nigeria recorded between 15 to 40% yield increase
while pesticide use by the farmers decreased by 10
to 20% during the pilot phase (2003-2005) of the Sustainable
Tree Crops Program (STCP) managed by the International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
Dr. Stephan Weise, STCP West African regional manager,
said that the STCP has strengthened 15 large farmer
cooperatives through training and technical support
with potential outreach to over 31,000 farmers in the
cocoa producing countries of West Africa. He noted
that farmers are now receiving 5-15% higher farmgate
prices on their produce through group sales, and more
transparent and direct transactions.
In West and Central Africa, cocoa production declined
over the past several decades because of inadequate
access to improved technologies, high costs of, and
limited access to inputs and credit, poor marketing
and a major shift in emphasis on agricultural policies.
Email Taye Babaleye of IITA at t.babaleye@cgiar.org for more information.
THE AMERICAS
IFIC STUDY SAYS U.S. CONSUMERS CONFIDENT OF FOOD SUPPLY
SAFETY
Majority of American consumers are confident in the
safety of the United States food supply and express
little to no concern about food and agricultural biotechnology.
This is a finding of a study published by the International
Food Information Council (IFIC).
IFIC commissioned Cogent Research to conduct quantitative
assessments of U.S. adult consumer attitudes toward
food biotechnology to, among others, track public awareness
and perceptions of food biotechnology; and identify
food biotechnology concerns.
Other findings are:
- Food biotechnology is not a consumer labeling
demand.
- Although many
consumers have heard at least “a
little” about food biotechnology, awareness
has declined and knowledge is superficial.
- Communicating specific benefits may enhance
perception.
- Although awareness is low, consumers
remain open to the broad concept of animal biotechnology,
in general.
- Consumers remain opposed to the notion of animal
cloning, as well as the use of cloned animals for
breeding.
- The majority of consumers continue to be
unaware of plant-made pharmaceuticals, but those
who are
aware tend to be favorable.
The study concludes that while there is no overwhelming
consumer demand for more information about
food biotechnology, it will be important to continue
to make science-based
information available to the public.
The full report in PDF format is available
at http://ific.org/research/upload/2006%20Biotech%20
Consumer%20Research%20Report.pdf
COSTA RICANS WILLING TO TRY GM BANANA
Costa Rica is the second largest exporter of banana
worldwide. Results of an exploratory study of the consumption
and adoption of transgenic bananas in the country indicated
that farmers are willing to adopt transgenic varieties
because of potential savings in pest management costs. “This
situation could be similar in other developing countries… any
developments that could reduce management costs would
be welcome by producers”, wrote Francisco Aguilar
and Bert Kohlmann in their paper published by the International
Journal of Consumer Studies.
The research has determined that a majority of Costa
Rican consumers are also willing to buy and consume
transgenic bananas. Those consumers that are young,
have a small household, and higher levels of education
and income, were found to be more likely to try the
product. Aguilar and Kohlmann recommend that consumers
be informed about transgenic products, their benefits,
and associated risks. Only 35% of the consumers in
their research were aware of the technology.
The complete paper is at
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi
/full/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2006.00527.x
COSTS RE GRAIN SEGREGATION MAY BECOME ISSUE
The added costs associated with handling genetically
modified (GM) and specialty crops have become an important
issue for grain handlers. Hence, even if the cost of
modifying systems to handle GM is not much, it remains
to be a major constraint to actual segregation. This
was a finding of a study by North Dakota State University
researchers who looked into the practices, time requirements,
and costs of segregating GM grain from non-GM grain.
“Marketing mechanisms to facilitate co-existence
of GM and non-GM crops” published in the Agribusiness
and Applied Economics Reports, revealed that unless
premiums attributed for grain quality are high enough
to offset these extra expenses, very few elevators
will decide to segregate and test, even though it is
clear that for most elevators, implementing segregation
and testing would not be very costly.
See an article by Tracy Sayler at
http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2006/artspdf/nov0606.pdf
THE TIGER TECHNIQUE IN PLANT PATHOGEN DIAGNOSIS
Scientists at the US Department of Agriculture’s
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are enthusiastic
over a new plant pathogen diagnostic technique that
is as powerful as its namesake. Christened TIGER – short
for Triangulation Identification for Genetic Evaluation
of Risks – the new procedure has the potential
to identify virtually every kind of microbe that may
be present in a given sample, and it does so in a matter
of minutes. According to William Schneider of the ARS
Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit, TIGER has
the speed, sensitivity, and accuracy to be a powerful
tool in distinguishing new, undescribed pathogens from
native-born crop threats.
Like other PCR-based fingerprinting
methods now used for early detection and routine monitoring
of plant
pathogens, TIGER makes use of specially designed fragments
of nucleic acid called “primers.” Their
job is to find, and bind to, complementary segments
of DNA in a pathogen’s genome. However, unlike
in today’s PCR methods where primers are designed
for the targeted pathogen’s DNA, TIGER’s
primers are very general and serve as a one-size-fits-all
tool that detects all bacteria in a given sample. It
therefore eliminates the need for prior genome sequencing.
The database on which TIGER now relies mainly contains
information on bacterial pathogens of humans. Soon
there will be the addition of plant-disease bacteria,
and the stage will be set for TIGER-based identifications
of plant-pathogenic fungi and viruses.
The complete press release can be read at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2006/061103.htm.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
CHINA COLLABORATES WITH NZ ON PLANT BIOTECH
Biotechnology research on potato is the focus of
a scientific collaboration between China’s Huazhong
Agricultural University and the New Zealand Crown
Research Institute’s Crop and Food Research.
A Memorandum of Understanding was forged between
the two institutions which share interests in food
technologies and agricultural sciences, particularly
plant sciences.
Future cooperation will include resource sharing,
staff exchanges, training and career development,
joint research
projects, market intelligence and technology development,
joint funding applications, and joint contract and
sub-contract arrangements.
See the press release at http://www.crop.cri.nz/home/index.jsp.
NEW
SUGARCANE VARIETIES FOR INDIA
The Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR) has identified new sugarcane
varieties for each agricultural
zone in India. In the Peninsular Zone, the sugarcane
varieties Co 99006 (Neeraj) and Co 99004 (Damodar)
were found to be suitable for cultivation. The former
has tolerance to water-logging, drought and salinity,
good field resistance to red rot and moderate resistance
to smut. The second variety is tolerant to drought
and salinity, and moderately resistant to red rot.
Other sugarcane varieties have been recently identified
in a workshop held at G B Pant University of Agriculture
and Technology in Pantnagar. These varieties, namely
CoH 119, CoS 96268 (Mithas), Co 98014 (Karan-1) and
CoS 96275 (Sweety) are suited for commercial cultivation
for the North-West Zone comprising of Punjab, Rajasthan,
Haryana, Western and Central Uttar Pradesh, and Uttaranchal.
To
read more, visit http://www.icar.org.in/pr/29102006.htm.
MYANMAR’S
EDIBLE OIL CROP SECTOR GETS A BOOST
Development is in store for Myanmar’s edible
oil crop sector, which recently received a loan of
US$12.3 million from the OPEC Fund for International
Development (OFID). The total budget of the project
amounts to US$14 million; the remaining balance will
be borne by the government of Myanmar.
The project will focus largely on four oil seeds:
sesame, groundnut, sunflower and soybean, and on oil
palm, and will boost oil crop production by expanding
the availability of improved seeds and genetic material
to oil crop farmers. The project will also cover the
construction of two new oil solvent extraction plants
and the upgrading of existing oil processing facilities.
The project will likewise establish national edible
oils standards and institutional capacity for edible
oil quality control.
“The goal of this project is to increase the
productivity and value of oil crops and their derivatives,
while ensuring low cost edible oil supplies for consumers
and assuring that sound policies are implemented and
institutions are strengthened to develop a sustainable
and competitive oil crop sector,” said Geoffrey
Mrema, Director of the Agricultural Support Systems
Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The Organization will provide technical assistance
throughout the project.
Read the press release at
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/
news/2006/1000437/index.html.
ICRISAT AND FAO LAUNCH SCIENCE COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE
Two international organizations are collaborating
on an initiative to promote open access information
sources in agricultural sciences and technology
in
India. The International Crops Research Institute
for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will create
a new platform for information sharing on agricultural
research in India through open access documentation.
The initiative, which was launched during the First
AGRIS workshop on open access in agricultural sciences
and technology, will enable agricultural scientists
to obtain Internet-based information that are more
searchable, and have access to data such as writer,
citation, and source credibility. Workshop participants
recommended the establishment of two pilot open
access information repositories in Delhi and Hyderabad.
Read more on ICRISAT at http://www.icrisat.cgiar.org.
EUROPE
STUDY SHOWS GM OK TO ENVIRONMENT
Data available so far provides no scientific evidence
that the commercial cultivation of genetically modified
(GM) crops has caused environmental harm. This was
the conclusion of a study “Ecological impacts
of GM crops: Experiences from 10 years of experimental
field research and commercial cultivation”, commissioned
by the Swiss Expert Committee for Biosafety.
The study focused on insect resistance maize, herbicide
tolerant soybean and soilseed rape, three of the major
GM crops of significance for Swiss agriculture. Dr.
Joerg Romeis of the Agroscope Reckenholz-Tanikan Research
Station which conducted the study said that a number
of issues related to the interpretation of scientific
data on effects of GM crops on the environment were
brought up. The study highlights these scientific debates
and discusses the effects of GM crop cultivation on
the environment considering the impacts caused by cultivation
practices of modern agricultural systems.
Email Dr. Romeis at joerg.romeis@art.admin.ch for
additional information and how to obtain a copy
of the report.
BENTGRASS FOUND OUTSIDE CULTIVATION
Researchers at the Oregon State University and colleagues
at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
found herbicide resistance genes in wild populations
of bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera). This is the
first report of the successful establishment and
persistence of an herbicide resistance gene in
wild plant populations. The herbicide resistant plants
were found within a 3.8 km area where transgenic
bentgrass was grown in 2003. It is believed that
the resistant plants in the wild populations were
derived by either hybridization or by direct crop
seed dispersal.
The complete paper was published by the journal Molecular
Ecology and can be accessed at
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.03072.x
CANOLA ACQUIRES WEEVIL RESISTANCE TRAIT FROM YELLOW
MUSTARD
The cabbage seedpod weevil Ceutorhynchus obstrictus (Marsham) is an insect pest of major economic importance
in the production of canola (Brassica napus L. and B.
rapa L.) in Europe and North America. Larvae feed
on developing seeds within the pods, with each larva
consuming about five to six seeds during development.
Once they mature, the larvae chew circular exit holes
in the walls of the seed pods, and pupate in the soil.
Through introgression or ‘backcrossing’ using
yellow mustard as the parent, researchers from the
University of Alberta and the University of Guelph
in Canada have developed canola plants with resistance
to the weevil. The results are published in the October
issue of Crop Science.
Studies were conducted to test
the hereditary material of the offspring, produced
by crossing Sinapis alba L. (yellow mustard) x B.
napus and then backcrossing
progeny to the B. napus parent, as potential sources
of resistance to the weevil. Of the genotypes evaluated
in field trials in 2001, 18 had an average of fewer
than 0.05 weevil exit holes per pod, an indicator
for resistance against the weevil, and these genotypes
were used for further testing. Subsequent tests confirmed
several genotypes that evidently carried genes for
resistance to the pest from the yellow mustard parent.
The
development of weevil-resistant canola is a significant
first step towards integrated management of cabbage
seedpod weevil, resulting in substantial reductions
in insecticide use in this crop.
The complete research
article “Introgression of Resistance to Cabbage
Seedpod Weevil to Canola from Yellow Mustard” is
available at http://crop.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/46/6/2437.
For the abstract, readers can visit http://crop.scijournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/46/6/2437.
ASSESSING THE BENEFITS OF GOLDEN RICE 2
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) afflicts many people around
the world, especially in developing countries. Some
of the adverse health outcomes of VAD include increased
mortality, night blindness, corneal scars, blindness
and measles among children, as well as night blindness
among pregnant and lactating women. In a bid to reduce
VAD-related diseases, rice plants were engineered to
produce higher levels of beta-carotene in the endosperms
or grains, and the result of this effort is Golden
Rice 2. In an article in Nature Biotechnology, Alexander
Stein and colleagues from the University of Hohenheim,
Germany and Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science & Research,
India, presented a new methodology for assessing the
potential impact and cost-effectiveness of Golden Rice
2 in India.
By building on a disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)
approach and using the nationally representative food
consumption data, the potential health impact of Golden
Rice 2 was calculated. For assessing the potential
cost-effectiveness of Golden Rice 2, the low-impact/high-impact
scenario approach was followed that would determine
the research, development and dissemination costs of
Golden Rice 2. In this context, the researchers found
that widespread consumption of Golden Rice 2 with a
high ß-carotene content could significantly reduce
the burden of VAD. In addition, Golden Rice 2 was shown
to be a cheap and effective alternative to Vitamin
A supplements in reducing the mortality rate attributed
to VAD.
The complete correspondence, “Potential impact
and cost-effectiveness of Golden Rice” can be
accessed at http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v24/
n10/full/nbt1006-1200b.html.
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CALL TO DEVELOP RESOURCE BOOK ON AFRICAN BIOTECH EXPERTS
The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech
Applications (ISAAA) AfriCenter is in the process of
developing a Resource Book that would profile available
and emerging expertise, institutions and resource materials
on biotechnology issues in Africa to meet the information
and networking gaps that exist currently. The aim of
the project is to operationalize a Pan African Network
of Experts on Biotechnology Issues (PANEBI) with a
view of strengthening trans-disciplinary linkages,
networking and collaboration.
For more information, contact amukuna@cgiar.org or
a.nderitu@cgiar.org.
FIRST INTERNATIONAL CASSAVA SYMPOSIUM
The First International Symposium on Cassava Plant
Breeding, Biotechnology and Ecology, will be held in
Brasilia, Brazil, 11-15 November 2006. The conference
is organized by the University of Brasilia and the
Ministry of Environment, Brasilia, Brazil. The theme
for the symposium is “Cassava improvement to
improve livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa and northeastern
Brazil”.
More information is available at http://www.geneconserve.pro.br/meeting2/
ICGEB WORKSHOPS FOR 2007
Visit http://www.icgeb.org/MEETINGS/CRS07/Meetings2007.htm for the schedule of several workshops to be organized
by the International Centre for Genetic Engineering
and Biotechnology (ICGEB). Among these include a
regional workshop on “Principles of biosafety
research for the release of GE crops” in Khartoum,
Sudan in February 2007; a workshop on “Introduction
to risk assessment for the deliberate release of
GMOs: Assisting decision-making in a biosafety framework” in
Ca’Tron di Roncade, Italy in May 2007; and
a workshop on "Biosafety of GM crops and the
evolution of regulatory frameworks: Issues and challenges" in
September 2007 in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
CGIAR’S
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research (CGIAR) will have its annual general meeting
in Washington, D.C., 5-7 December, 2006. To be held
with the meeting are the “CGIAR Photo Competition” and “CGIAR
Exhibition”. The exhibition will highlight the
work of the international centers, the Challenge Programs
and CGIAR Partners.
Additional information may be obtained from http://www.cgiar.org/meetings/agm06/index.html
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