Filipinos are first!
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY ADRIAN DUBOCK, PETER BEYER & INGO POTRYKUS IN a victory for science-based regulatory decision-making, the Government of the Philippinesh as, on Dec 10 authorised the direct use of GR2E Golden Rice in food, feed,and for processing. The regulatory data were submitted by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and the International Rice Research Institute […]
FAO: 14 per cent of global food wasted
Reading Time: 2 minutesAROUND 14 per cent of global food goes to waste after harvesting and before reaching the retail level, including through on-farm activities, storage, and transportation. This is according to the report on the State of Food and Agriculture released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). FAO monitored how much, where, […]
Genetically engineered species occur naturally
Reading Time: < 1 minuteHORIZONTAL gene transfer caused by Agrobacterium was found to occur in 39 dicot species. These findings prove that transgenic plants occur in nature on unexpectedly large scale. The results are published in Plant Molecular Biology. Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer cause formation of crown galls or hairy roots, due to the expression of transfer DNA (T-DNA) genes. […]
First Argentine GM potato to be released in 2020
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAFTER being de-regulated during August 2018, the National Council of Technical and Scientific Research (CONICET) started last week the formal process to register the first transgenic potato cultivar in Argentina in the National Seed Institute’s register. In partnership with biotechnological company Sidus, the CONICET developed a potato with resistance to the virus Y, called SPT […]
New way to develop drought-resilient crops
Reading Time: 2 minutesAUSTRALIAN research could help breeders develop more drought-resilient crops that can produce more food and more profit with less water. Drought tolerance is critically important in the face of climate change, population growth and land-use pressures. Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU), ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, and CSIRO Agriculture and […]
Large-scale genomics for wheat improvement
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIMPROVING bread wheat using genomic tools is vital in speeding up development of varieties with enhanced traits. Thus, Carlos Guzman from the International Maize And Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and other genetics experts used large scale genomics and looked into the validity of genomic selection to improve wheat with less field work and less lab […]
Drones to buzz in digital agriculture
Reading Time: 3 minutesTHE ever popular imagery of Malaysian artists – featuring the buffalo, a plough and a tardy paddy farmer in a kampong scene may soon be iconised in art forever in the near future. Malaysia’s stereotype rural landscape is on the cusp of embracing digital agriculture – a matrix that will change the face of the […]
Soybean – The kingmaker in feed technology and animal nutrition
Reading Time: 5 minutes The Conference – a convergence of nutrition and biosecurity The conference saw a convergence of scientists, feed millers and formulators, animal nutritionists, veterinarians, quality control personnel and livestock producers. Avian Influenza (AI) and African Swine Flu (ASF) took centre stage at this conference as the latter is threatening farmers in Asian countries. So […]
Hybrid wheat variety to be available by 2022 in Pakistan
Reading Time: 2 minutesBY MUHAMMAD LUQMAN HYBRID wheat variety will be available in Pakistan for commercial cultivation by the year 2022, helping the South Asian nation to increase crop production by at least 40-45% as compared to the conventional seed varieties. “Field trials are in progress in collaboration with China’s Beijing Academy of Agriculture Sciences. Research work has […]
Enabling a successful AgriFood Innovation Park in Singapore: What should it focus on?
Reading Time: 7 minutesBY PAUL TENG, ANDREW POWELL AND ROB HULME Background The success in growing an agrifood sector is considerably improved when supported by one or more agrifood innovation parks (AFIPs) judging from experience in countries such as Taiwan and The Netherlands. Singapore has announced that it intends to develop a new 18ha Agri-Food Innovation Park in […]