[searcabic] Latest news postings on biotechnology, 17 August 2008

Sun Aug 17 12:57:33 CST 2008

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*Posted 17 August 2008*

*PHILIPPINES*
1-DON'T GET CAUGHT IN A BAD (BACTERIAL LEAF) STREAK
2-OCCIDENTAL MINDORO MAYORS BACK BIOTECH, SUPPORT CREATION OF INFO CENTERS
3-LBSCFI CONDUCTS CLOSING CEREMONIES, R&D SYMPOSIUM

*INDIA*
4-RESIDENT CALLS FOR EVER-GREEN REVOLUTION

*AFRICA*
5-NAMIBIA CRAFTING REGULATIONS ON GMOs

*GLOBAL*
6-THE WORLD NEEDS GM AGRICULTURE

*1-DON'T GET CAUGHT IN A BAD (BACTERIAL LEAF) STREAK *
14-August-2008 Philippine Rice Research
Institute<http://www.philrice.gov.ph//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=578&Itemid=2>

Non-stop rain is a double-edged sword. On one side, you will have a
relatively good night sleep because of the cold weather. On the other side,
you will be restless at the thought of bacterial diseases invading your rice
farm.

Bacterial leaf streak (BLS) is one of these diseases. Less invasive and less
popular than bacterial leaf blight (BLB), it is more prevalent when it rains
non-stop like nowadays.

According to Dr. Hoai Xuan Truong, plant pathologist from PhilRice, BLS
damage ranges from 10 to 20% when most of the leaves are infected.

"Its symptoms are almost similar to BLB," said Dr. Truong. For BLS, farmers
should pay close attention to fine yellow lines on the leaf surface. Almost
half of the leaf will eventually turn brownish and the tip will be droopy.
In contrast, for BLB, up to 2/3 of the leaf becomes infected, yet the whole
leaf remains erect. In the field, a pronounced mass of rustic yellow color
above the canopy is a sign of BLS infestation. Scenes such as this are
visible in some rice farms in Guimba and other farms in Nueva Ecija.

Dr. Truong said, BLS infestation comes in earlier than BLB. If conditions
like continuous rains are favorable, BLS signs become visible 40-50 days
after seeding (DAS).

The first and best preventive option, according to Dr. Truong, is to
maintain good drainage. This ensures that water will not stagnate in the
paddy.

In addition, water stagnation also prevents good aeration, which eventually
causes poor root development and lesser number of tillers.

Planting of resistant varieties is another effective strategy, according to
Dr. Truong. PSB Rc82 and PSB Rc18 are some of the varieties resistant to
BLS. Dr. Truong cautions on planting hybrid rice varieties during wet
season, as most of these are highly susceptible to BLS and other diseases.
Dry season is the best time to grow hybrid rice.

Dr. Truong further added that a variety resistant to BLB is also likely to
be resistant to BLS.

When copper-based fungicide application is the preventive option taken,
farmers must make sure to apply before 40-50 DAS. Beyond that, it is useless
to spray; chances are the bacteria must have taken their place inside the
leaf. One important consideration in applying fungicide is that it must be
done when it is not raining. Otherwise, the fungicide will just be washed
away before it can even take effect.

Meanwhile, PhilRice plant breeders are developing lines resistant to blast,
BLB, and other rice diseases using both conventional and biotechnology
approaches.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*2-OCCIDENTAL MINDORO MAYORS BACK BIOTECH, SUPPORT CREATION OF INFO CENTERS*
11-August-2008 Business Mirror

It is only when farmers realize that agriculture is an enterprise from which
they can derive larger incomes that they are encouraged to take the plunge
to entrepreneurship.

This much was observed by officials of Occidental Mindoro who saw the
potential of their farmers being key players in local and regional
agricultural trade since their town is a major food producer.

Occidental Mindoro actually boasts of a high 9.4-percent annual economic
growth among the provinces in Mimaropa (Occidental and Oriental Mindoro,
Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan).

Mayor Sonia Pablo of Rizal, Occidental Mindoro, who has taken the role of
champion of biotechnology advocacy was instrumental in launching the
Biotechnology Information and Organization Network (BIONet)- BIOCommerce in
her province.

Pablo said the establishment of the BIONet Resource Center in their province
is a great opportunity not only for farmers, but also for all inhabitants of
the province.

"It pays to have a resource center where you can access new information like
biotechnology," she said.

One perfect example of the importance of having access to information is the
case of Mayor Vincent Festin of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. Festin is
actually a convert to biotechnology, having been skeptical about its
benefits, and was surprised even more by what he initially thought was
meddling or modifications of God's creations.

It was when he participated in a Biotechnology Seminar for the Local
Government Units that he realized that biotechnology had been in existence
for thousands of years, starting with beer making, winemaking and bread
making.

Surely, it did not start with the discovery of the laws of genetics by
Austrian Augustinian monk Gregor Mendel.

"Our town's [economic] growth rate will surely get better than what we have
now because of the presence of the BIONet-BIOCommerce Center at the heart of
our town," he said.

The BIONet-BIOCommerce Center in San Jose aims to help farmers achieve a
better quality of life by helping them increase their profit through
biotechnology. Some of the organization's target products are corn, like
genetically modified Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and Round-up Ready corn and
malunggay, which has become a profitable venture for residents.

Not only will BIONet provide information on the latest information on
biotechnology. It will also link up the province with other BIONet Centers
in the country, like those in Tarlac and Butuan, to provide a national
database on agricultural biotechnology information.

BIONet aims to serve as a link between the farmers and the private sector,
which is their ready market. *(Biolife News Service)*

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*3-LBSCFI CONDUCTS CLOSING CEREMONIES, R&D SYMPOSIUM*
Butch S. Pagcaliwagan, S&T Media Service
08-August-2008 Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural
Resources Research and Development
(PCARRD)<http://www2.pcarrd.dost.gov.ph/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1197&Itemid=118>

Los Baños, Laguna – The Los Baños Science Community Foundation, Inc.'s
(LBSCFI) celebration of the 2008 National Science and Technology Week was
concluded with a closing ceremony held last July 18 in this university town.

At the University of the Philippines Los Baños' (UPLB) D.L. Umali Hall, the
event drew the participation of an interesting mix of students, researchers,
politicians, artists, government officials, and LBSCFI officials and staff.

"I would like to commend the Los Baños Science Community (LBSC) for
upholding the tradition of celebrating yearly the National Science and
Technology Week (NSTW)," Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
Secretary Estrella F. Alabastro said. Alabastro was among the key
personalities invited by LBSCFI during the affair.

Alabastro added that among the science communities in the country, LBSC is
the most active in the observance of the NSTW. She recounted that for the
past 5 or 6 years, LBSCFI has always invited her to grace its NSTW
celebrations.

"I would like to congratulate LBSC for always coming up with novel ideas in
promoting and increasing interest in S&T (science and technology) among its
stakeholders. And this year is no exception," the secretary commented on
LBSCFI's NSTW celebration also dubbed as "Syensaya."

*R&D symposium-cum-award rites*

As with the previous years, LBSCFI's NSTW celebration culminates with the
presentation and recognition of outstanding research and development (R&D)
works.

For this year, the F.O. Tesoro Technology Transfer Award went to
"Substitution of supplemental light required for the bolting of Aster
ericoides hybrid using gibberellic acid" by Dr. Leonido R. Naranja and Ms.
Maria Charito Balladres of UPLB. The project developed a technology for the
induction of bolting or flowering of aster. It used gibberellic acid,
instead of electric-powered incandescent bulbs, for supplemental light to
induce bolting.

"Biotechnology-assisted development of bunchy top virus resistant banana by
mutation breeding" was given the Philippine Agriculture and Resources
Research Foundation, Inc. Award. The project demonstrated protocols for
generating mutations using gamma irradiation; induction, selection, and
multiplication of mutant lines using tissue culture; greenhouse screening;
and field evaluation of banana bunchy top virus. The team behind the project
are UPLB's Olivia P. Damasco, Teodora O. Dizon, Felipe S. dela Cruz, Jr.,
Judith B. Estrella, Leila S. Caymo, Efrelito Jay M. Guittap, Ryan Rodrigo P.
Tayobong, and Evelyn Mae T. Mendoza.

The Dr. Elvira O. Tan Memorial Award for best published paper in
aquaculture/inland fisheries went to "Polyculture of green mussels, brown
mussels, and oysters with shrimp control luminous disease in simulated
culture system" by Eleonora A. Tendencia of the Southeast Asian Fisheries
Development Center-Aquaculture Department. For the award's best published
paper in marine fisheries, "Enhancing the recovery of depleted Tripneustes
gratilla stocks through grow-out culture and restocking" won. Authors of the
paper are UP Marine Science Institute's Marie Antonette Junio-Meñez, Helen
Grace Bangi, Maria Celia Malay, and Davelyn Pastor.

Incidentally, the LBSCFI R&D Awards Committee for agriculture and forestry
is chaired by PCARRD Deputy Director for R&D, Danilo C. Cardenas.

*New board of directors takes oath*

Another highlight of the program was the induction of LBSCFI's new set of
Board of Directors, which was presided by DOST Estrella F. Alabastro. The
new board is composed of Dr. Cecilio R. Arboleda, UPLBFI president; Dr.
Leuvina M. Tandug, Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau OIC-director;
Dr. Robert S. Zeigler, International Rice Research Institute
director-general; Dr. Alexander Madrigal, DOST-4 regional director; Dr.
Patricio S. Faylon, PCARRD executive director; Dr. Arsenio M. Balisacan,
Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Graduate Study and and Research in
Agriculture director; Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III, Philippine Council for
Aquatic and Marine Resources Research and Development executive director;
Caesar P. Perez, Los Baños mayor; and Dr. Luis Rey I. Velasco, UPLB
chancellor. (See previous post)

*Cong. Abaya keynotes*

Honorable Joseph Emilio A. Abaya, chair of the House Committee on S&T and
congressman of the 1st District of Cavite, also took center stage, as he
delivered the keynote speech.

"The country's current problems give us an even better perspective of how
dependent we are on science and technology. The rising prices of rice and
petroleum products; the devastations caused by natural calamities; and the
effects of global warming are just a few of the many problems we can link to
S&T," he said.

The congressman likewise commended LBSCFI's 18 years of cooperation and
collaboration to address priority needs of the municipality. He noted that
the R&D works recognized in the event are "efforts in harnessing S&T for
development and making it work for the people."

He also mentioned that in Congress, they take care of the policy side of the
equation. "Two months ago, the Committee on Science and Technology has
unanimously approved House Bill 3270, known as An act providing the
framework and support system for the ownership, management, use, and
commercialization of intellectual property rights (IPR) derived from R&D
funded by government or the technology transfer bill," he added. Abaya
elaborated though that the initiative is DOST led.

In closing, he assured of the support of Congress. "We will support you by
providing a conducive policy environment for S&T to prosper," he declared.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*4-PRESIDENT CALLS FOR EVER-GREEN REVOLUTION*
15-August-2008 The Economic
Times<http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/PoliticsNation/President_calls_for_ever-Green_Revolution/articleshow/3367000.cms>

NEW DELHI: At a time when India's Green Revolution in agriculture was
derided overseas, President Pratibha Patil on Thursday pushed for its second
version to ensure the country's food security and development.

"We must not forget that the food security of India is dependent on the
growth of its agriculture," Patil said in her address to the nation on the
eve of India's 62nd Independence Day.

"We should aim at enhancing productivity by using better technology and
innovative farming practices, with the active participation of the
panchayats (village councils)," the president said.

"At the same time, our scientists and agricultural research institutes must
work to usher in a second Green Revolution, which, along with
agro-biotechnology, can translate into an ever-Green Revolution in India."

The president's remarks came against the backdrop of remarks by Prince
Charles, the heir to the British throne, that the Green Revolution in India
only worked for a "short time" and was now leading to "disasters".

"Look at India's Green Revolution. It worked for a short time but now the
price is being paid," Charles, an environmentalist and campaigner against
genetically modified food, told the Daily Telegraph of London.

"I have been to the Punjab where you have seen the disasters that have taken
place as a result of the over-demand on irrigation because of the hybrid
seeds and grains that have been produced which demand huge amounts of
water."

President Patil said she had always advocated that special attention needed
to be given to the development of agriculture and rural areas, as 70 percent
of India's population still lived in villages and depended on farming.

"Therefore, the development of India will not be comprehensive or complete
till there is development in rural areas and increased agricultural
productivity," said Patil in her second such address after assuming office
on July 25 last year.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*5-NAMIBIA CRAFTING REGULATIONS ON GMOs*
by Wezi Tjaronda (WINDHOEK)
13-August-2008 New Era <http://www.newera.com.na/archives.php?id=22388>

Namibia is working on regulations of the Biosafety Act 2006, which will
regulate the import, export and production of genetically modified organisms
(GMOs).

GMOs are living plants, animals or microbes that have been given new genes
or whose genes have been modified to give them new characteristics.

The Biosafety Act was passed and signed in December 2006. It aims to
introduce a system and procedures for the regulation of GMOs to provide
protection to the conservation, research, development, production,
marketing, transport, application and other uses of genetically modified
organisms and specific products derived from GMOs. It also aims to promote
sustainable use of biological diversity by taking into consideration
potential risks to human health and safety, as well as cultural, social and
economic considerations.

The Biosafety Focal Point, Dr Martha Kandawa-Schulz, told New Era last week
that legal drafter Wally Rautenbach is currently finalising the biosafety
regulations to the Biosafety Act and the guidelines to the different
sections (on field trials, contained use, general release on the market and
transport and transit) have also been drafted. Manuals on the Biosafety Act
and on inspection and monitoring have also been completed.

The Act governs the import, export, release into the environment, the
contained use, placing on the market, transport or transit have also been
drafted.

Namibia is a signatory and a party to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety,
which requires exporters of living genetically, modified organisms to get
permission (advanced informed agreement) from importing parties before
shipment arrives.

Meanwhile, a simplified version of the Act, the Biosafety Act Manual, has
been compiled.

Kandawa-Schulz said the alliance has produced and translated brochures on GM
foods, GM crops, biotechnology, GMO testing, training and research at the
University of Namibia and Namibia Biotechnology Alliance into six local
languages.

The Ministry of Education, responsible for Science and Technology, is the
competent authority for Biosafety Act, to which applications will be made.
The Minister of Education will determine the date when implementation will
begin.

The Research, Science and Technology Act 2004 also provides for the
establishment of the Biosafety Council, which will investigate and consider
applications for permits to deal with GMOs, as well as selected and
determined GMO products.

Kandawa- Schulz said there is need for good infrastructure and raising of
awareness on biosafety and biotechnology within the public.

As for Namibia, she said it would be good for the country to do research on
its own local crops such as millet and indigenous medicinal plants and
produce its own products.

Although Namibia has not yet approved the growing of GM crops, the food
processing industry used approved enzymes and additive derived from GM
microbes and some GM ingredients such as soya lecithin and maize starches
and syrups.

The advantages of biotechnology, a process through which genes are
transferred to produce GMO is that one can produce many more crops, although
it remains to be seen whether there will be hunger or not.

However, the long-term consequence of planting and consuming GMO products is
not very clear to indigenous farmers.

Problems related to contamination of indigenous plants still persist and
there is also the fear that the GMO might wipe out existing organisms.

"Although farmers would like to plant some GMOs, many do not want to lose
their local varieties. They want to know what will happen in the long-term
and whether the safety of the approved GMO will remain the same in years to
come. Research is ongoing in this area and several issues and questions will
be answered in the immediate future," she said.

Through traditional biotechnology, communities make bread and porridge with
yeast, make compost from dead plant material with fungi and bacteria to
return nutrients to the soil and use plants for medicines.

Conventional biotechnology, which is hundreds of years old, is used in
selecting and breeding to improve the microbes, plants and animals used for
food production, transfer of genes between plants and animals to improve
resistance to disease and increase drought tolerance.

With modern biotechnology, however, people can transfer specified and
targeted genes from one organism to another without breeding.

*------------------------------------------------------------*
*6-THE WORLD NEEDS GM AGRICULTURE*
14-August-2008 The
Guardian<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/14/gmcrops.food>

*GM crops can boost productivity in lean times. Prince Charles was wrong to
dismiss them out of hand. *

In 2007, 12 million farmers grew GM crops over an area of 114m hectares
(281m acres) in 23 different countries. From the prairie farmers who grow GM
crops across 10,000 hectares to the farmers who use this technology on less
than one hectare, GM is a global reality and is used on average on areas of
just less than 10 hectares.

Not quite the technology that only helps big corporations and big farmers,
as suggested by Prince Charles, then. In reality, of those farmers growing
GM crops, 11 million are resource-poor farmers living and working in
developing countries such as South Africa, India and China. Contrary to the
allegations made, many of the seeds are supplied through their own
countries' institutes, and are designed to help solve problems that farmers
have in growing crops for food, feed, fibers and fuel.

Food security is back on the international agenda – after the surpluses of
food experienced in the 1970s and 1980s, the demand for food is again
starting to exceed supply. For us in the affluent west, food security issues
mean food inflation, but for the developing countries it means food
availability. The cure is productivity – producing more food (on the same or
less land) to increase supply and meet that demand. Increases in crop yields
have long been the advantage of GM, and this is now a crucial consumer
benefit with international importance.

What is absolutely clear, however, is that GM is not the only solution –
there is no magic bullet, no quick fix. But it can help by improving
productivity, improving food quality, and reducing the environmental
footprint of agriculture. A recent peer-reviewed report on the subject by PG
Economics demonstrated that production of soybeans, corn, and cotton in
areas planted with GM crops were respectively 20%, 7%, and 15% higher than
would have been the case had this technology not been used by farmers.
Furthermore, less fuel use and additional soil carbon storage from reduced
ploughing, facilitated by the use of GM crops, was equivalent to removing
over 6 million cars from the road for one year. Not quite the environmental
disaster some claim.

So who benefits from the use of new technology in farming? Are "giant
corporations" really the sole beneficiaries of this technology? A recent
Belgian study suggests that " … on average, two-thirds of the global
benefits are shared 'downstream', ie, among domestic and foreign farmers and
consumers, while only one-third is extracted 'upstream', ie, by
biotechnology developers and seed suppliers." Likewise, Terri Raney, from
the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, recently pointed out, " ...
the benefits are shared by consumers, technology suppliers and adopting
farmers, although non-adopting farmers are penalised as their competitors
achieve efficiency gains they are denied."

Being able to achieve this around the world is one thing; for UK farmers,
access to this technology requires a seismic change in the processing of GM
applications stuck in a dysfunctional European regulatory system, and an
ability to carry out field trials without fear of vandalism.

Europe has always been a powerhouse of agricultural production – with
climate change, the onus on the UK and Europe to increase agricultural
productivity has never been greater. That's why we need to ensure that any
further discussions about GM are scientific and based on solid facts.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*DISCLAIMER*: Articles that are posted in this news service do not
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*Local Government Planning: How much is air or water
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*Saving the Strongest Fiber:
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*Rural poverty and agriculture in Asia-Pacific, focus of
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*Biodiversity and Food
Security*<http://www.searca.org/web/news/2008/jul/web/21.html>

*Research exclusively for
scientists?*<http://www.searca.org/web/news/2008/jul/web/14.html>

*---------------------------------------------------------*
*Download available paper and/or presentation handouts of some notable
speakers presented at SEARCA Agriculture and Development Series. CLICK HERE.
* <http://www.searca.org/web/adss/2007/index.html>

*SEARCA ADSS: Sustainability: Its Many Uses, Abuses, and
Confusions*<http://www.searca.org/>
*by Dr. Harold J. McArthur, Jr.
Drilon Hall, SEARCA, College, Laguna, Philippines
19 August 2008, 4:00 - 5:00 PM*

*IRRI Seminar SeriesRice prices have started to fall – does this mean that
the rice crisis is over? An update and outlook*
*by Sushil Pandey
Havener Auditorium, IRRI, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
19 August 2008, 1:15 - 2:15 PM*

*Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference
2008*<http://www.abic.ca/abic2008/index.html%20>
*University College Cork, Ireland
24 - 27 August 2008*

*First International Symposium on Biotechnology of Fruit
Species*<http://www.biotechfruit2008.bafz.de/index.htm>
*Dresden, Germany
01 - 05 September 2008*
*---------------------------------------------------------

Visit SEARCA BIC website for JOB OPENINGS!* <http://www.bic.searca.org/>

*---------------------------------------------------------

Download presentation on "Biotech Crops? What's Next?" by Dr. Randy Hautea,
ISAAA Global Coordinator and SEAsia Center Director, in PDF
version*<http://www.bic.searca.org/>
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