Climate-smart rice key to farmer resilience, says IRRI head
Reading Time: < 1 minuteChennai,India: Stress-tolerant rice varieties can help make farmers more resilient against the increasingly destructive effects of climate change, said Matthew Morell, director general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Delivering the Millenium Lecture at the M.S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in Chennai on 10 February, Morell described rice as “the engine of food security,” […]
Food security looks very different depending on where you are sitting
Reading Time: 5 minutesIn 1974, the World Food Conference declared that: “Every man, woman and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop their physical and mental faculties.” The conference set as its goal the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition within a decade. Two decades later, in 1996, the […]
On the trail of the mushroom scientist
Reading Time: 5 minutesAt the age of 68, Professor Vikineswary Sabaratnam, the country’s leading mushroom expert is not showing any signs of slowing down. Whether it is conducting research, supervising post graduate students, teaching, helping farmers to grow mushrooms, or simply creating awareness on the benefits of mushrooms to the general public, Vikineswary tells The Petri Dish Editor-in-Chief, […]
Lettuce in February: The hidden cost of buying fresh vegetables all year round
Reading Time: 4 minutesBeginning with this issue we will be publishing articles on food security from THE CONVERSATION. We find these articles that come with academic rigour, but journalistic air appropriate to be presented as a series. We believe this series will bring awareness on the subject which is a critical global issue. We are indebted to THE […]
Genetically modified foods: Nothing to fear
Reading Time: 4 minutesGENETICALLY modified crops (GMOs or genetically modified organisms) have existed for thousands of years, but now that we know how to splice genes in the laboratory, there is concern over food safety. Much of that concern is unwarranted. Nevertheless, there are campaigns to require product labeling when some foodstuffs contain GMOs. The food industry is […]
Indonesian farmers ready to adopt biotech corn
Reading Time: < 1 minuteFARMERS in Lamongan, Indonesia are ready to use biotechnology to support corn self-sufficiency programme in the country. This was stated by some 35,000 farmers from Lamongan and surrounding districts who attended the Farmer Meeting and Corn Harvest event in Lamongan, East Java, Indonesia on Jan 24. High government officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Chairperson […]
Golden Rice
Reading Time: < 1 minuteDeficiency of vitamin A is a global predicament, particularly in developing countries. This is consequently due to poor diet practices as a result of poverty. Hence, a novel type of rice plant was designed to curb this predicament. The name ‘Golden Rice’ was designated due to the yellowish-orange grains produced by the plant.