New tool helps scientists better target the search for alien life
Reading Time: 3 minutesCOULD there be another planet out there with a society at the same stage of technological advancement as ours? To help find out, EPFL scientist Claudio Grimaldi, working in association with the University of California, Berkeley, has developed a statistical model that gives researchers a new tool in the search for the kind of signals […]
New tomato from gene editing
Reading Time: < 1 minuteFOR the first time ever, an international team of scientists from Brazil, the United States, and Germany has created a new crop from a wild plant within a single generation using the modern genome editing process CRISPR-Cas9. The team used Solanum pimpinellifolium as the parent plant species, a wild tomato relative from South America, and […]
Bill Gates: GMO seeds can help farmers adapt to climate change
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIN a conference call during the Global Climate Action Summit held in San Francisco on September 12-14, 2018, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said that the power of innovation should extend to climate change. Gates believes that innovation will be key to confronting climate change, helping those affected by it, […]
‘Give us this day our daily bread’
Reading Time: < 1 minutePope on World Food Day POPE FRANCIS on Oct 16, which is World Food Day (WFD) embraced the theme of the event: Our actions are our future: A Zero Hunger world by 2030 is possible. The Holy Father’s words came in a letter to Prof José Graziano da Silva Director General of the Food and […]
A better bread?
Reading Time: 3 minutesBY SADEQUR RAHMAN There are few more evocative words than bread in almost any language. From the Lord’s prayer in the Bible to Marie Antoinette’s unfortunate “Let them eat bread” comment (which she apparently did not make) to Indira Gandhi’s “Roti Kapad aur Makan” slogan and that of many other politicians, the word “bread” has […]
Call to modernise agriculture
Reading Time: 2 minutesSarawak’s deputy CM says ultra-chic modern styled technology can make agriculture attractive to youths The Sarawak state government is pushing ahead for high technology practices such as “smart and precision farming” in an effort to make agriculture look “sexy” and attract the modern generation. The initiative will also help the farming community generate higher income […]
US Agriculture paves the ‘New Normal’ for global agribusiness
Reading Time: 7 minutesI had the opportunity to attend the 2018 Southeast Asia US Agricultural Cooperators Conference organised by US Grains Council, US Department of Agriculture, and US Soybean Export Council in Kota Kinabalu recently. Themed “The new normal for global agribusiness”, the conference, aimed at bringing together US agriculture leaders, farmers, USDA officials, subject matter experts and […]
Because ‘food matters’, here’s food for thought
Reading Time: 2 minutesFOOD MATTERS. It is a basic human need, yet its availability in adequate, safe, nutritious and regular amounts for humans is by no means assured. While land and water for food production are both declining at alarming rates due to natural and human causes, the demand for food is still growing as populations all over […]
FAO, UNESCO ramp up efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals
Reading Time: 2 minutesTHE Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) have renewed their partnership to boost efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, including the goal of Zero Hunger. FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay today signed a new Memorandum of […]
Fall Armyworm keeps spreading and becomes more destructive
Reading Time: 3 minutesFALL Armyworm keeps spreading to larger areas within countries in sub-Saharan Africa and becomes more destructive as it feeds on more crops and different parts of crops, increasingly growing an appetite for sorghum and millet, in addition to maize. The pest could spread to Northern Africa, Southern Europe and the Near East, warned the United […]