News & Events

The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) of Zambia released permits to four companies to import products that may contain genetically modified crops. According to NBA Chairperson, Dr. Paul Zambezi, the permits were granted to Gatbro Distributors, Pick n Pay, Southern National Import and Export Limited and Choppies Super Stores market, following the decision of the Board on July 5, 2019 in Lusaka.

The INDEHISCENT (IND) and ALCATRAZ (ALC) gene homologues have been reported to be essential for dehiscence of fruits in Brassica species. But their functions for pod shatter resistance in Brassica napus, an important oil crops, are not well understood. Here, we assessed the functions of these two genes in rapeseed using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. The induced mutations were stably transmitted to successive generations, and a variety of homozygous mutants with loss-of-function alleles of the target genes were obtained for phenotyping

Modern biotechnology (transgenesis and gene editing) helps achieve an increase in food production without the need for more land area for agriculture. It is expected to continue contributing to achieving global food production and thus it is necessary for this technology to be widely accepted. For this reason, experts from DowDuPont published a review on how government regulations of gene-edited crops and public acceptance of these crops are affect each other.

Purdue University in their study emphasized that over the past 70 years, yield and nitrogen efficiency of hybrid corn varieties have increased significantly. The study's purpose is to identify how corn plant utilized nitrogen throughout the years to guide breeders in their decision making involving future hybrids. According to Tony Vyn, a professor at Purdue's Department of Agronomy, they observed a "progressive improvement" in the nitrogen use efficiency in corn hybrids, which then results in higher yields as modern hybrids are able to absorb more of the nitrogen fertilizer applied.

Gene action and heterosis provides information to assist breeder for selecting and generating improved plant recombinants. This study aimed at determining the gene action of selected cassava traits. The F₁ clones exhibited considerable phenotypic variability between families and offsprings. The best F₁ progenies had a higher amount of β-carotene (β-C) of 6.12 mg 100 g^-1 against 1.32 mg 100 g^-1 of the best parent.

Obesity affecting populations of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) is a health emergency and these nations need to take ownership of measures to address this worrying trend's underlying causes, said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva today. The FAO chief made the remarks to participants - including leaders of small island nations - of a SIDS-focused event on the sidelines of the High Level Political Forum 2019.

An estimated 820 million people did not have enough to eat in 2018, up from 811 million in the previous year, which is the third year of increase in a row. This underscores the immense challenge of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030, says a new edition of the annual The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report released today.

Increasing seed oil content is one of the most important breeding goals for soybean due to a high global demand for edible vegetable oil. However, genetic improvement of seed oil content has been difficult in soybean because of the complexity of oil metabolism. Determining the major variants and molecular mechanisms conferring oil accumulation is critical for substantial oil enhancement in soybean and other oilseed crops

Looking toward 2020, as nations take stock of their actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the 2015 Paris Agreement, many are seeking ways to increase their nationally determined contributions, or NDCs, to global emissions reduction. Vietnam is one of the fortunate nations to have a suite of untapped options that, if undertaken, can save the country an estimated $2.3 billion by 2030, substantially decrease emissions, increase agricultural productivity, and benefit coastal and forest ecosystems.

A recent study by researchers at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD) in Vietnam suggests that better practices for coffee, rice, maize, and livestock production, can help Vietnam increase its Paris Agreement commitments.

Crop yield improvement is necessary to keep pace with increasing demand for food. Due to climatic variability, the incidence of drought stress at crop growth stages is becoming a major hindering factor to yield improvement. New techniques are required to increase drought tolerancealong with improved yield. Genetic modification for increasing drought tolerance is highly desirable, and genetic engineering for droughttolerance requires the expression of certain stress-related genes. Genes have been identified which confer drought tolerance and improve plant growth and survival in transgenic wheat.

WeRise is an Information and Communications Technologies for Development (ICT4D) tool that integrates seasonal climate predictions with crop growth and nutrient management models to provide recommendations on optimum planting times, suitable rice varieties to use, and the timing of fertilizer application for rainfed rice-growing areas under current and future climate conditions. As farmers continue to grapple with the effects of climate change