Agribiotechnology in a nutshell module
Reading Time: 4 minutesBY JAYASYALINY JAYARAJ LOS BANOS: Twenty-five delegates from eight Asian countries attended the second Asian Short Course on Agribiotechnolgy (ASCA) from Dec 2-6. The event was put together by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), the International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotech Applications (ISAAA) Southeast Asia, the […]
Biotech saves lives: The Philippines health ministry
Reading Time: 2 minutes“WITHOUT biotechnology, polio, measles, and other deadly diseases will be rampant. This reflects the importance of biotechnology in our daily lives and in the future to find solutions and alternatives to the current needs affecting the health of the (Philippine) population,” says Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Dr Enrique Domingo during the opening ceremonies of […]
Drought-tolerant, disease-resistant chickpea from India
Reading Time: < 1 minuteINDIAN farmers may soon take hold of two new chickpea varieties with improved drought tolerance and disease resistance traits. The varieties were developed by the Agricultural Research Institute of India and Raichur (Kartanaka) University of Agricultural Sciences using molecular methods and genomic innovations, which enabled a short time of research and development. The researchers searched […]
Commission gives nod for eight GMO products
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE European Commission has authorised eight Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), all for food and feed uses (maize MZHG0JG, maize MON 89034 x 1507 x NK603 x DAS-40278-9, maize MON 89034 x 1507 x MON 88017 x 59122 x DAS-40278-9, maize Bt11 x MIR162 x MIR604 x 1507 x 5307 x GA21, the renewals of soybean […]
Kenya gives nod for Bt cotton
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE Kenyan Cabinet, chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta, has approved the commercial planting of Bt cotton after the 5-year field trials showed positive results. The biotech crop is expected to increase the cotton production of Kenyan farmers and thus boost the manufacturing pillar of the Big 4 Agenda where it is stated that Kenya aims […]
ISAAA: Biotech crops fastest adopted crop technology
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBIOTECH CROPS are considered as the fastest adopted crop technology in the history of modern agriculture, according to ISAAA Pocket K 16: Biotech Crop Highlights in 2018. From the initial planting of 1.7 million hectares in 1996 when the first biotech crop was commercialized, the 191.7 million hectares planted in 2018 indicates a ~113-fold increase. […]
Growing popularity of agribiotechnology in Vietnam
Reading Time: < 1 minuteDESPITE being a progressive scientific achievement of the world during the past decades and accepted by many countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada, and many other developed countries, but biotechnology and genetically modified crops and their applications are still not well known in Vietnam. It is undeniable that biotechnology and GM foods have […]
Developing market oriented rice hybrids
Reading Time: 2 minutesRECENT research and technological advancements have significantly improved the quality and viability of hybrid rice. Still, the lack of awareness among value chain actors on these improvements threatens to impede its full potential as a climate resilient alternative to traditional varieties. Characteristics like poor grain quality, lower head rice recovery percentage, chalkiness, high insect, pest, […]
Singapore scientists engineered yeast to produce butanol
Reading Time: < 1 minuteSCIENTISTS from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed an efficient way to recycle food waste that the country produces. They have genetically engineered Yarrowia lipolytica to convert fats in food waste into butanol. In 2015, Singapore produced 785,500 tons of food waste in which only 13% was recycled. This prompted the NUS Synthetic […]
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 […]