Biotech Updates

This is the last issue for the year. We will resume on January 8, 2020. Happy Holidays!

Philippines Approves Golden Rice for Direct Use as Food and Feed, or for Processing

On December 18, 2019, the Philippines' Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI) has issued a biosafety permit to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for GR2E Golden Rice for direct use as food and feed, or for processing (FFP). After rigorous biosafety assessment, DA-BPI has found Golden Rice "to be as safe as conventional rice."

Nigeria Commercializes Pod Borer Resistant Cowpea, its First GM Food Crop

The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved commercialization of a biotech cowpea variety resistant to pod borers. This development places Nigeria as the first country ever to commercialize genetically improved cowpea.

Agri-biotech Vital for Future Food Security, Pakistan S&T Minister Declares

"Pakistan must take advantage of the latest technologies, in particular biotechnology, for the advancement of agriculture," says Mr. Fawad Chaudhry, Federal Minister for Science and Technology, during the National Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology for Food Security held on December 11-12, 2019 at COMSTECH Auditorium in Islamabad. The event was organized by Pakistan Biotechnology Information Center (PABIC) Lahore Chapter, in collaboration with Forman Christian College University (FCCU) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Rice Scientists Use CRISPR-Cas9 to Develop High-yielding Semi-dwarf Rice Lines

Scientists from China National Rice Research Institute used CRISPR-Cas9 to edit Semi-Dwarf1 (SD1) in elite Chinese rice varieties, which has several desired agronomic traits. The results are published in Scientific Reports.