New narratives necessary
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (HLPDAB) hosted in Vietnam recently set the pace for a ‘refreshing rethink’ in agribiotech CAN THO, VIETNAM: This year the High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (HLPDAB) took place, here, in Can Tho, Vietnam. This city which is the economic centre of the Mekong Delta was […]
Golden rice finds traction in Philippines
Reading Time: 6 minutesBY MARLO ASIS After more than a decade of rigorous scientific testing and extensive research trials amid opposition by anti-GMO groups, Golden Rice is moving closer to the marketplace in the Philippines. If an application for a biosafety permit is approved, the much-awaited vitamin A-enriched rice variety may ultimately find its way onto the dining […]
AgTech and FinTech
Reading Time: 4 minutesNew drivers to boost millenial agriculture Many digital tools are fast being developed to aid farmers, and there is also an explosion of knowledge on how to best use such tools for specific situations.New media is now becoming available to convey such knowledge to farmers. Agricultural technology (agtech) through its portfolio of new technologies and new […]
New cassava varieties to ease hunger
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY WAHINYA HENRY RESEARCHERS say the Virus Resistant Cassava for Africa Plus (VIRCA Plus) disease resistant and nutritionally-enhanced varieties are expected to improve the livelihoods and health status of Kenyans and in Africa. Cassava mosaic disease (CMD), first reported in Tanzania in 1994, and the cassava brown streak (CBSD) have posed major constraints in making […]
Bangladesh agriculture leaders keen to adopt biotech cotton
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBangladesh,the first country to plant biotech eggplant, is ready to adopt biotech cotton. This was expressed by the research and development leaders of the country during the seminar launch of ISAAA’s Global Status of Commercialised Biotech/GM Crops for 2016, held on July 9, at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) in Dhaka. Chief Guest Additional […]
African banker wins World Food Prize
Reading Time: 2 minutesAkinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, has won the 2017 World Food Prize. The award is usually dubbed as the Nobel Prize for food and agriculture. Adesina has toiled for many years to increase food production in Nigeria. He has also increased access to credit for small farmers and influenced agricultural policies throughout […]
Plant tissue culture: FGV’s contribution to industry
Reading Time: 3 minutesFELDA Global Ventures Holdings Berhad (FGV)’s involvement in tissue culture began in 1980s and since 2010, the FGV Innovation Centre (FGVIC) has successfully produced 1.0 million tissue-cultured oil palm ramets annually. In addition to oil palm tissue culture planting materials, FGVIC has also actively produced banana ramets to accommodate the varied needs of customers. The […]
Genetically engineered crops: Fake news disappointments
Reading Time: 6 minutesFake news plaguing the progress of genetically engineered (GE) crops is nothing new since their first commercial cultivation 21 years ago. One of the most recent examples of fake news reports was churned out by economist, Jomo Kwame Sundaram and his co-author Tan Zhai Gen, http://ipsnews.net/2017/05/genetically-engineered-disappointments. The article lacks all the criteria of a valid, […]
Philippines tops in Southeast Asia for GM corn production
Reading Time: < 1 minuteMedia practitioners, farmers, and government agency officers were briefed during a media conference on ISAAA’s latest report, Global Status of Commercialised Biotech/GM Crops: 2016 at the Acacia Hotel, Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Philippines on May 19. The 2016 report states that Philippine biotech corn adoption increased to 812,000 hectares in 2016, a remarkable 16% increase (110,000 […]
Brazil approves world’s first commercial GM sugarcane
Reading Time: 2 minutesBRAZIL has approved the commercialization of a genetically modified sugarcane, developed by the Brazilian sugarcane breeding and technology company, Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira (CTC). This is the first time such permission has been granted any-where in the world. The approval came from the National Technical Biosafety Com-mission (CTNBio). The GM sugarcane contains the gene Bt […]