News & Events
At the dawn of the new One CGIAR era, what is the clarion call to the CGIAR networks and partners? In my opinion, CGIAR needs to pick big, inspiring, and important questions to answer. Can there be a bigger question for humanity than how to ensure access to a healthy diet for all? Currently, three billion people do not have such access (SOFI 2020). One billion of them live in Africa, accounting for 74% of the continent’s population. This situation threatens to get worse before it gets better: study after study shows that the prices of nutritious foods are increasing relative to the prices of staples.
Integrating cutting-edge technologies is imperative to sustainably breed crops for a growing global population. To predict dry matter yield (DMY) in winter rye (Secale cereale L.), we tested single-kernel models based on genomic (GBLUP) and hyperspectral reflectance-derived (HBLUP) relationship matrices, a multi-kernel model combining both matrices and a bivariate model fitted with plant height as a secondary trait.
Reviving traditional rainwater harvesting structures in regions with degraded land leads to increased groundwater levels, more arable land, and higher crop productivity and incomes. A recently published scientific research paper offers a case study of Bundelkhand, Central India, where groundwater levels were boosted by 2-5 m by renovating water structures called havelis, leading to 10-70% increase in crop yields in the region.
A collaboration between Pure Scan AI and ICRISAT to create a portable aflatoxin detector has won the Inspire Challenge by the CGIAR Big Data Platform at the recent Big Data Convention, earning a US$ 100,000 grant to build and scale up the device. Utilizing the blacklight fluorescence feature of aflatoxin, this device captures the fluorescence by cameras with filters. Images are processed and the fluorescence degree and pattern are fed into a learning model that predicts the quantity of aflatoxin present in the sample to an accuracy of 1 part per billion error margin.
- National Plant Pathology Workshop was held at National Agriculture University, Ha noi in October 23-25, 2020.
- Organic Agri-Product Promotion Workshop was held in Ho Chi Minh City by MARD in October 26 2020
Purple leaves are rich in health-protecting anthocyanins and food colorants in Brassica juncea. But the causal gene, which is related to leaf color formation, have not been reported in B. juncea. Anthocyanins mainly accumulated throughout the adaxial and abaxial epidermal leaf cells of purple leaves. A genetic analysis indicated that an incompletely dominant gene controls the purple leaf trait in B. juncea.
Agrifood systems cannot be transformed unless there is gender equality. That was the simple message underlying the launch today of a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the African Union that puts the spotlight on women's role in agrifood systems. The report, Leaving no one behind: A Regional Outlook on Gender and Agrifood Systems, was launched by FAO Director-General QU Dongyu and African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture Josefa Sacko at the 31st Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa.
Ministers at the largest ever FAO Regional Conference for Africa have committed to ‘raise ambitions and accelerate actions' towards achieving food security, at the close of the three day event. Around 900 delegates including 95 ministers and other government officials from 48 countries have met in the context of rising food insecurity and malnutrition exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple overlapping crisis - climate change, transboundary pests and diseases, conflict and economic downturns.
Soybean seed coat deficiency (SCD), known as seed coat cracking during soaking in the natto production process, is problematic because split or broken beans clog production lines and increases production costs. Development of natto soybean cultivars with low SCD is crucial to support the growth of the natto industry. Unfortunately, information on the genetic control of SCD in soybean, which is desperately needed to facilitate breeding selection, remains sparse.
The 4th International Workshop on Regulatory Approaches for Animal Biotechnology continues to bring together regulators, researchers, and technology developers to discuss the experiences of their represented countries when it came to animal biotechnology. Session 4 of the online workshop gave them a chance to connect and meet in-depth as regional groups and their discussions were translated into reports that were shared with the whole group for a comprehensive view of the current status of global animal biotechnology.
Tocilizumab is a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and to manage the dangerous side effect of a certain cancer treatment. Thus, the drug became a candidate drug to help COVID-19 patients facing excessive inflammation. Tocilizumab blocks the activity of interleukin 6, which contributes to the immune system's inflammatory response. High amounts of the pro-inflammatory protein have been found in COVID-19 patients who had severe symptoms.
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is the second most important vegetable crop of the world. It is rich in nutrition with zero cholesterol, but highly sensitive to abiotic stresses, especially salt, drought, and high temperatures. Development of transgenic tomatoes that are climate resilient coupled with high nutritional value and improved shelf-life of fruit is the need of the hour. Utilization of conventional plant breeding methods and genetic engineering technologies must therefore be vital to achieve these goals