Inclusive bioeconomy
Reading Time: 2 minutesFAO calls for a bioeconomy that does not leave anyone behind BERLIN: If done right, in particular with and for family farmers, bioeconomy can help efforts to tackle pressing global problems such as hunger, poverty and climate change. This was the message FAO Deputy Director-General Climate and Natural Resources, Maria Helena Semedo delivered recently at […]
Scaling sustainable rice farming practices to achieve food security in Asia
Reading Time: 3 minutesJAKARTA, Indonesia: Experts gathering at the 5th Responsible Business Forum (RBF) on Food and Agriculture have stressed the need for multi-stakeholder collaboration to upscale the sharing of proven best practices in sustainable rice production among Asia’s smallholder rice farmers. The event, held on March 27-28 under the theme “Scaling Collaboration to Deliver the Sustainable Development […]
More cassava in less time
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY MARIA ELIZA VILLARINO CASSAVA has a relatively long growth cycle compared to other important crops. It takes an average of 10-12 months — sometimes up to 24 months! — for farmers to harvest the roots; maize, rice, and potato’s growth cycles span less than a third of that. In other words, farmers can grow […]
Malaysia’s sweet potato expert gives her take
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe Petri Dish (PD) recently interviewed Dr Tan Swee Lian, a former plant breeder with the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) for 37 years. During this time, she worked mainly on cassava and the sweet potato crops. Through her research initiative MARDI came up with some fascinating cassava and sweet potato varieties. PD: […]
Why ozone levels pose a challenge to food security
Reading Time: 4 minutesBY DIVYA PANDEY Research Associate, Stockholm Environment Institute, York, AXA Research Fun LISA EMBERSON SEI York Centre Director, University of York SOFIE MORTENSEN Research Associate, Stockholm Environment Institute OZONE is a well-known and interesting gas. It is thought of as a “good” gas when present in the stratosphere, where it forms the ozone layer sitting […]
Sweet odyssey!
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhich came first, sweet potatoes or human? An awe-inspiring read on the humble tuber crop. EVIDENCE reported in the journal Current Biology on April 12 shows that sweet potatoes arose before there were any humans around to eat them. The findings also suggest that the sweet potato crossed the ocean from America to Polynesia without […]
A new plant protection method on the horizon
Reading Time: 2 minutesNOVEL technologies are being sought to replace the traditional pesticides used to protect plants, particularly edible plants such as cereals. A new collaborative project between the University of Helsinki and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) is shedding light on the efficacy of environmentally friendly RNA-based vaccines that protect plants from diseases and […]
Five ways India must help its farmers face the threat of climate change
Reading Time: 4 minutesBY MANOJ DORA Senior Lecturer in Operations & Supply Chain Management, Brunel University London Climate change could hurt farmers’ income by up to 20-25% in the medium term, according to the Indian government’s latest annual economic survey. Extreme weather events, temperature rise and lower rainfall all threaten to derail the Indian government’s agenda of doubling […]
Spread of rice blast nipped
Reading Time: 2 minutesScientists find way to halt the spread of rice blast, a fungus that destroys up to 30% of the world’s rice crop each year. A team led by the University of Exeter showed that chemical genetic inhibition of a single protein in the fungus stops it spreading inside a rice leaf – leaving it trapped […]
Breakthrough world staple crop
Reading Time: < 1 minute A new study has isolated a gene controlling shape and size of spikelets in wheat in a breakthrough which could help breeders deliver yield increases in one of the world’s most important crops. The team from the John Innes Centre say the underlying genetic mechanism they have found is also relevant to inflorescence (floral) […]