Scientists Urge EU to Allow New Breeding Technologies and Modern Biotech in Organic Farming to Achieve SDGs
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA RESEARCH TEAM including scientists from Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands, and the United States of America has made a plea for the European Union to allow novel breeding techniques such as gene editing in organic agriculture to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In a paper published in Trends in Plant Science, the team said that Europe’s […]
APEC Members Tackle Developments in Biotech Regulations
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), ISAAA, United States Department of State, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducted the first leg of the APEC High-Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology on April 27 and 28, 2021. The online workshop’s objective was to bring together the APEC member economies to discuss the development of regulatory capacities for […]
Indian Farmers Lose Opportunity to Benefit from Bt Brinjal as GEAC Halts Field Trials
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has ceased the field trials of Bt brinjal and other transgenic crops in India due to the unwillingness of some states to cooperate and with the pressure of some non-governmental organizations. “We are disappointed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s regressive decision to not go ahead with the […]
Kenya’s agricultural reforms set to bolster Bt Cotton commercialisation
Reading Time: 2 minutesRadical reforms in Kenya’s agricultural sector are set to inject fresh impetus to Bt cotton farming in the country, should a fibre crops legislative Bill pass into law. The Government shall be mandated to promote and market fibre crops and products locally and internationally, a development that will invigorate Bt cotton production. The Bill, technically referred to as Fibre Crops Development Authority Bill, seeks to […]
Experts Encourage Farmers in Pakistan to Plant Bt Cotton
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAgriculture experts in Pakistan advised growers to plant Bt cotton varieties along with a 10 per cent area of non-Bt cotton crops to save them from pest attacks. Agriculture extension department spokesperson said that the government had set a target of cultivating 200,000 acres with cotton this year and for this purpose, the agriculture department was also providing […]
Experts Highlight Impacts of Agri-biotech Adoption in Vietnam
Reading Time: 2 minutesBiotech maize adoption in Vietnam shows positive impacts of higher productivity, increased farmer income, and environmental improvement, according to the speakers of the webinar Contributions of Agricultural Biotechnology Adoption in Vietnam held in a hybrid event today hosted in Hanoi, Vietnam. Vietnam Seed Trade Association (VSTA), together with the Vietnam Farmers’ Union (VFU), and ISAAA co-organized the webinar attended by […]
Newly Elected Leaders in Central Uganda Pledge Support for GM Crops
Reading Time: < 1 minuteNEWLY elected leaders from Wakiso district in central Uganda pledged support for genetically modified (GM) crops during a sensitization workshop on ongoing biotech research at the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI recently. The 10 leaders including district and division councillors were led by the Woman MP-elect Wakiso District, Ethel Betty Naluyima. “We have a cardinal role as leaders to ensure […]
Study shows rising temperatures hurt rice yields
Reading Time: < 1 minuteA STUDY of the relationship between temperature and yields of various rice varieties conducted by a professor and extension specialist at North Carolina State University suggests that warming temperatures have negatively affected rice yields. Based on 50 years of weather and rice-yield data from farms in the Philippines, the study led by Dr. Roderick Rejesus examined rice yields and atmospheric conditions […]
Japan launches world’s first genome-edited tomato
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE first direct consumption genome-edited tomato was launched in Japan by Sanatech Seed. The Japanese ministries in-charge have announced their determination that the genome-edited tomato will not be regulated as a genetically modified product. Sanatech Seed’s Sicilian Rouge High GABA tomato was developed using CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology. The tomato contains high levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an amino acid believed […]
France’s researchers and experts support Agriculture Minister’s vision for new plant breeding technologies
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE French Association of Plant Biotechnologies (AFBV), bringing together around a hundred researchers and experts in the field of green biotechnology, welcomes the position taken by French Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie, which favors new plant breeding technologies (NPBT or NBT). In a press release, AFBV states that such technologies make it possible to speed up […]