From searcabic at gmail.com Tue Oct 20 19:10:01 2009 From: searcabic at gmail.com (SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center) Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:10:01 +0800 Subject: [searcabic] Latest news postings on biotechnology, 20 October 2009 Message-ID: Right click images to view this page properly. If this e-mail does not appear as a web page, please click here. *Posted 20 October 2009* *PHILIPPINES* 1-MORE BIOTECH CROPS NEEDED TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE 2-AVOIDING A POSSIBLE FOOD SHORTAGE 3-DA EYES GRANT FOR CLIMATE PROGRAM 4-?SNORKEL? RICE CULTIVATION BEST RESPONSE TO FLOODING 5-OFW-TURNED-FARMER NOW BIOTECH HERO *AUSTRALIA* 6-AUSTRALIA?S BIOTECH REVOLUTION MEANS IMPROVED CROPS, INCREASED YIELDS *AFRICA* 7-UGANDA?S GM COTTON TRIALS ARE PROMISING *GLOBAL* 8-BILL GATES SAYS IDEOLOGY THREATENS HUNGER FIX 9-UNRAVELING OF THE SORGHUM GENOME WILL HELP IMPROVE DRYLAND CROPS *1-MORE BIOTECH CROPS NEEDED TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE* By Jennifer A. Ng 14-October-2009 Business Mirror The development of more biotech crops resistant to diseases and the adverse impact of drastic changes in weather conditions have now become more crucial in view of climate change, which is expected to disrupt traditional cropping patterns and threaten the country?s food security. Dr. Randy Hautea, global coordinator and Southeast Asia Center director of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, said that as part of the country?s preparations for climate change, the Philippine government can consider stepping up its investments in the biotech sector, particularly in research and development (R&D). ?[The Philippine government] can prepare this early and anticipate the [ill-effects] of climate change on agriculture. The development of crops that can adapt to [changing weather patterns] can be a good first step?, said Hautea in a telephone interview. Of the genetically engineered crops being commercialized and propagated in the Philippines, he said Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn is one crop that can adapt to drought. Also, the Los Ba?os-based International Rice Research Institute has released flood-tolerant and drought-tolerant rice varieties. Hautea, however, said more genetically engineered crops resilient to drastic changes in weather patterns could still be developed. He said the Philippines could have laid down the groundwork for the development of more drought- or flood-resistant genetically engineered crops had the national government stuck to the provisions of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997 (AFMA), or Republic Act 8435. In a paper written by Reynaldo de la Cruz of the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of the Philippines in Los Ba?os, the AFMA was supposed to provide a budget of 4 percent of the total R&D budget of the agriculture sector for a period of seven years after the law was enacted. He noted that by law, the annual budget of biotechnology should have been at most around P1 billion. Hautea noted that in terms of the development of the biotech sector, the Philippines is now lagging behind its counterparts in Southeast Asia such as Thailand and Vietnam. He said Thailand spends more than $20 million annually for its biotech sector. Also, the resistance of the general public to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or genetically engineered crops has worked to the disadvantage of the government in moving forward its biotech program. ?Konti na nga pera mo para sa R&D tapos gagamitin mo pa [You already have little funding for R&D and you still use it] to explain [the advantages of biotech crops] to the general public, lalong liliit and napupunta [less money will go] to the biotech sector?, said Hautea. The resistance to GMOs and genetically engineered crops, he said, has also made the biotech sector less attractive to potential private investors since there is now a perception that there is no market for biotech products in the Philippines. Earlier, Dr. William Dar, director general of the International Crops Research for the Semi-Arid Topics, urged the Philippine government to start preparing for climate change and to develop short-term, medium-term and long-term plans to enable the country to cope with the adverse impact of global warming. Dar noted that paddy-rice production will be adversely affected by global warming. *------------------------------------------------------------* *2-AVOIDING A POSSIBLE FOOD SHORTAGE* by Sen. Edgardo J. Angara 12-October-2009 Business Mirror The great floods wrought by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng left many farms ravaged, and just a mere month before harvest. As of last week, the crop losses caused by the two tropical storms amounted to P10 billion. This would have yielded 478,000 metric tons of palay, 18,000 metric tons of corn, and 14,546 metric tons of vegetables, mango, banana, and papaya. The fisheries, livestock and poultry sectors were not saved from the flood. Ondoy has damaged 5,905 hectares of fishponds, mostly in Region 3, resulting in losses worth P127.5 million. Damage to livestock and poultry has been pegged at P41 million. As the floods subsided, it left the country with two pressing issues to address: first, a looming food shortage for the first and second quarters of 2010, and second, a big blow to the livelihood of many farmers. Because available food stocks are projected to last until 2009, the impact of crop losses on our food supply will be most likely felt early next year. But while urban dwellers have until December to brace themselves for possible food price increases, farmers are now reeling from the loss of a season?s worth of work, haunted with problems of credit payments, and how to tide their families through the next harvest, among other things. In Nueva Ecija alone, some 15,000 farmers have lost their harvest. How much more from Isabela, Ilocos, Pangasinan and other provinces pounded by Pepeng for almost a week? The immediate response, of course, should be to ensure food supply through all means possible. First, we?ve got to make the most of the remaining harvest for this year. Distributing post-harvest facilities, such as flatbed dryers, can help save as much as 15 percent of our production losses, of which 5 percent is due to poor drying alone. Post-harvest facilities in the country are so backward that it takes 30 working days to harvest, thresh, and haul palay, a process which takes five days in Thailand. Second, food importation should be increased if necessary. But this should just be a stopgap measure, while we wait for the next harvest. Third, we?ve got to help our farmers plant again, and provide them with high-yield seeds and fertilizers. Irrigation systems that have been damaged by the floods should be immediately repaired. The long-term response, one which has been difficult to sustain through the changes in leadership, is to provide a comprehensive program on modernizing agriculture, and incorporate climate-change mitigation in it. The damage brought by the recent typhoons showed not only the wrath of global warming, but how unprepared we are to face it. For instance, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has recently developed a flood-tolerant variety of high-yielding rice, which can last two weeks completely submerged in water. Flood-prone India and Bangladesh have already lined up to use this variety. Like them, we can introduce this variety in flood-prone areas during the rainy season, and it will definitely save us from another crop devastation wrought by the recent typhoons. We live on fertile grounds. Our farmlands have one of the highest potentials in Asia?IRRI calculates that if given enough support and irrigation, our farms could even double their productivity to 6.3 metric tons/hectare. It is now up to us to help them reach this potential. E-mail: edgardo_angara at hotmail.com; Web site: www.edangara.com *------------------------------------------------------------* *3-DA EYES GRANT FOR CLIMATE PROGRAM* by Melody M. Aguiba 11-October-2009 Manila Bulletin The Department of Agriculture (DA) is pursuing a $120 million grant for the acquisition of remote sensing and agricultural crop testing facilities under a climate change program of United States Pres. Barack Obama. The Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice), a DA-attached agency, has been preparing the proposal for this financing program which DA wants to obtain in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). The proposal may be presented by DA to the US government as US-DA Sec. Tom Vilsack is tentatively set to visit the Philippines on Oct. 26. ?Our plan is to purchase high-throughout facilities. (DA) Sec. (Arthur) Yap is pursuing this under President Obama?s climate change program. I think the US is providing funds that can be availed of by countries affected by climate change. It could be a grant,? said Lawyer Ronilo A. Beronio, Philrice executive director, in an interview. These facilities are powerful tools for planning agricultural production. It can be better than a phytotron, a greenhouse used for studying plant growth under certain environmental conditions, according to Beronio. It can give information important to cropping such as drought and flooding. ?It has the capacity to engage in high-throughput research (involving) DNA fingerprinting. It can test thousands of varieties,? he said. Government is confident that the country can benefit from financing programs for climate change adaptation by international agencies with the country?s vulnerability to climate change?s effects due to its archipelagic nature. One concern in peninsular areas like those in the Philippines is the increasing salinity in rice fields caused by rising salty sea water inundating farms. The development of saline water suitable rice varieties has been one of the programs of Philrice. Three saline suitable varieties have earlier been approved for release by the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC). These are the Rc 184, Rc 186, and Rc 188 which have yields of between 2.9 to 3.2 metric tons per hectare, a yield that may be acceptable enough considering the saline soil characteristic. Philrice has initiated the use of remote sensing facilities for agricultural planning as it tied up with a private firm, Develtech, on the development of software that can read satellite images and enable researchers to translate these into useful data. Accuracy of the data is complemented by ?ground truthing? or the determination of the actual representation of the data on the ground, whether blue-colored images, for instance, translate to actual irrigation and planting of rice. With this study, a more accurate rice planting area has been determined for Nueva Ecija as of the wet season of 2008. While the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) estimated that farmers planted on 200,000 hectares that season, the remote sensing study indicated actual planting was only on 180,000 hectares. Such discrepancy may be the reason why rice Philippine production data can be bloated at times which may also be causing inaccurate estimation of needed rice import volume. With the US-funded facilities, Beronio said usefulness of this remote sensing technology can be applied nationwide. Besides, the government has a plan to revive the Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries Development Zone (SAFDZ) which will maximize land use based on suitability of certain crops. The same technology will be useful in optimizing this program?s benefit. *------------------------------------------------------------* *4-?SNORKEL? RICE CULTIVATION BEST RESPONSE TO FLOODING* by Marvyn N. Benaning 10-October-2009 Manila Bulletin A rice variety that grows best when submerged has emerged as the best option for Luzon farmers whose fields are regularly flooded due to typhoons or heavy rains. With global heating instigating unpredictably long periods of dry and wet months, the rice strain, dubbed as ?snorkel? rice, offers the best defense for flooding, like what tropical storm Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng brought to the entire Luzon area. Developed by scientists working at the Nagoya University of Japan, the variety grows ?snorkels? when submerged and grows up to an incredible 25 cm a day. Thus, the rice plant does not only tolerate submergence but even grows better when swamped with water. A recent paper in the journal Nature written by Laurentius Voesenek stressed that scientists were pleasantly surprised to find out that the ?snorkels? grown provide the entire plant with the nutrients and minerals that would otherwise be lost. Voesenek said ?snorkel? genes in flood-tolerant rice were discovered by Japanese scientists who then introduced the genes to sensitive high-yielding varieties. ?Snorkels? grow as hollow tubes from parts of the plant known as internodes, which protect them from getting swamped with water. In a sense, internodes provide the armor for the rice strain. With the country expected to lose more than 500,000 metric tons (MT) of rice due to Ondoy and a fraction more due to Pepeng, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will have little alternative but to experiment on ?snorkel? rice. DA officials confide that research on the same type of rice has been going on at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), which is also doing work on saline-tolerant, drought-tolerant and submergence-tolerant rice varieties, including several traditional strains. Filipino scientists may actually use biotechnology processes to introduce the same gene in traditional indigenous rice varieties to achieve the same effect and Nagoya University may provide generous assistance for the same purpose. *------------------------------------------------------------* *5-OFW-TURNED-FARMER NOW BIOTECH HERO* by Rudy Fernandez 04-October-2009 The Philippine STAR MANILA, Philippines - Rosalie Ellasus has dabbled in many different fields. >From working in medical technology, to becoming an OFW, then a farmer, and finally a leader and speaker giving testimonials on her success, Ellasus has truly crossed many boundaries and hurdled many obstacles to become what she is today. It was 1987 when Ellasus worked as a nanny to two children of an American widow in Singapore, leaving behind her family and medical technology profession. Two years later, she moved to Canada where she again served as a nursemaid to a Canadian couple?s twins. While in Canada, she immersed herself in other fields that could improve her intellectual capabilities. In 1992, she returned to Singapore where she landed a better-paying job as a market executive. Unfortunately, her husband died so she decided to return to the Philippines to take care of her sons. Yet another transformation came when she turned to farming, particularly production of biotechnology corn, a genetically modified crop that has a built-in defense mechanism against destructive corn pests. >From her savings as an OFW, Ellasus bought a 1.3-hectare farm and tried producing corn. But aflatoxin contamination, as well as pests and weeds that reduced her yield, made it impossible to sell her produce. Unfazed, Ellasus attended a 16-week Integrated Pest Management-Farmers Field School on corn conducted in 2001 by the Department of Agriculture. From the seminar, she changed her farm practices and, after seeing a demonstration farm on biotech corn, she decided to adopt the technology. She sold her bountiful biotech corn produce to feedmills and the corn husks to local craft producers because these were flawless and sturdy. Subsequently, she expanded her farm to six hectares. ?I was truly convinced that a marginal farmer can improve his life only if he will adopt biotechnology,? Ellasus asserts. She has since become one of the country?s successful GM corn producers. In 2006, she was elected president of the prestigious Philippine Maize Federation (PhilMaize), a national association of corn farmers? cooperatives. She was also elected municipal councilor of San Jacinto, Pangasinan in the 2007 elections. Ellasus shot to global prominence when she was chosen in 2007 as the first recipient of the Kleckner Trade and Technology Advancement Award, named for Truth & Technology (TATT) chairman Dean Kleckner, an internationally known farmer-leader. The award is given for ?exemplary leadership, vision and resolve in advancing the rights of farmers to choose the technology and tools that will improve the quality, quantity and availability of agricultural products around the world.? Ellasus was commended for using biotechnology to solve the production challenges on her farm. Over the past two years, she has also been invited to speak at the Des Moines Roundtable Discussion on Agricultural Biotechnology in Iowa, USA; Minneapolis Conference of the Western Canada Wheat Association; a conference sponsored by Mexico?s Department of Agriculture; and a farmer?s forum in Medan, Indonesia. When Peruvian and Vietnamese government officials and scientists visited the Philippines recently, she was tapped to share her experiences in biotechnology farming. She is also often invited as resource person in Philippine forums on biotechnology. Now 49, she is featured in a book together with 64 other trail-blazers in biotechnology crop production in 14 countries in Asia and Africa. The book, entitled ?Communicating Crop Bio-technology: Stories from Stakeholders,? documents how farmers, media practitioners, policymakers, industry representatives, scientists, academicians, religious leaders, and students have benefited from science communication efforts and how in turn they are now part of the process of realizing a collective voice on crop biotechnology. The 175-page volume was published by the New York, USA-based International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). Edited by Dr. Mariechel Jamias-Navarro, ISAAA Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology manager, the book contains 49 articles from stakeholders (farmers, media practitioners, policymakers, scientists, academics, religious leaders, industry representatives and students) in 14 countries in Asia and Africa. Aside from Ellasus, the other Filipinos featured in the book are former UP president Dr. Emil Javier, now president of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST); multi-awarded journalist Melody Aguiba of Manila Bulletin; Dr. Edita Burgos, wife of the late press freedom fighter and icon Jose Burgos Jr.; Dr. Cynthia Hendreyda, a professor and scientist at UP Diliman; Edwin Paraluman, a successful corn farmer from General Santos City, South Cotabato; and Fr. Emmanuel Alparce, former executive director of the Social Action Center in Sorsogon and now vice rector of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica in Guam. Each of those featured in the book is an important figure in his or her field ? a field that Ellasus has tended to, both literally and figuratively. She says, ?Here in the Philippines, many farmers are not proud of their job. I want to see them shine. I?m just a small candle, but even the weakest flame can spread fire.? *------------------------------------------------------------* *AUSTRALIA 6 -AUSTRALIA?S BIOTECH REVOLUTION MEANS IMPROVED CROPS, INCREASED YIELDS *11-October-2009 The Gov Monitor Significant improvements in wheat yields have been achieved over the past 50 years while the global area sown to crops has remained reasonably constant. The release of new varieties and improvements in agronomic practices have been largely responsible for these yield increases. The start of systematic breeding in the late 1800s through to today?s improved varieties has been driven by the adoption of new technologies such as selective and mutation breeding, statistical computer-based analysis of field data and more recently marker assisted selection. The ongoing improvement in varieties, despite an increasingly competitive production environment, has been achieved through the willingness of breeders and the farming community to adopt new technologies. Biotechnology, genomics and phenomics are now emerging as key new technologies for developing even better varieties and helping ensure that yields continue to increase. Genomics provides scientists with tools to understand and investigate the 30,000 genes in barley and the 100,000 genes in wheat and then, with phenomics, determine which genes are involved in determining the quality characteristics, the disease or the abiotic stress response. Using this information, crop improvements can then be effected using either marker assisted selection or genetic modification. The Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG) ? a major initiative of the Grains Research and Development Corporation and the Australian Research Council ? is funded to understand fundamental plant processes that can subsequently be manipulated to increase biotic stress tolerance in wheat and barley, commonly encountered by cereal crops in Australia and overseas. Drought, salinity and nutrient deficiency are abiotic stresses which are the subject of particular focus by the ACPFG. Speaking at recent GRDC grower Updates at Cummins and Minnipa in South Australia, ACPFG research scientist Dr Andrew Jacobs said the centre was generating drought tolerance markers for the selection of adapted lines in conventional breeding programs, and developing transgenic cereal lines carrying genes for adaptation to drought from a range of drought-tolerant sources. Dr Jacobs said the development of salt-tolerant crops was also a major focus. ?We are also using genomics and associated technologies to investigate the mechanisms cereal crops employ to tolerate toxic levels of soil boron,? Dr Jacobs said. ?One of the main genes involved in boron tolerance has now been identified, which will enable breeders to enhance the efficiency of breeding for boron tolerance, either through conventional or transgenic breeding programs.? By studying the genes involved in transporting nitrogen in plants, researchers are working to improve the way plants use nitrogen fertiliser. And as Dr Jacobs says, reducing the amount of fertiliser needed could reduce environmental pollution and save farmers money. The ACPFG has over the past year or so achieved a number of research advances which have opened a wide range of new options. The centre has now developed several new technologies that have the potential to significantly improve stress tolerance in cereals. Dr Jacobs said the translation of these findings into practical outcomes remained a challenge, however, the centre was now in a position to demonstrate the practicality of many of the research outcomes and this will help build the necessary delivery pathways. ?To deliver the benefits of this research to the cereal growing community at an increased rate, the ACPFG has links with many wheat and barley breeding programs and major research organisations,? Dr Jacobs said. ?This increases the efficiency of providing research outcomes to farmers.? *------------------------------------------------------------* *AFRICA 7 -UGANDA?S GM COTTON TRIALS ARE PROMISING *by Joseph Miti 14-October-2009 Daily Monitor When Ms Eseza Eriaku a resident of Serere in Soroti District retired from teaching, she hastily opened up a garden to grow cotton. This was after she was convinced that the price of cotton was to be attractive this year. She planted six acres of cotton in this year?s first season, little did she know, she would abandon the crop six months later after her first harvest. ?I fell into trouble with weeding and buying pesticides,? Ms Eriaku says. ?They advised me to intercrop the garden with beans so that pests can spare cotton and feed on beans. But again, it failed to work out. I ended up registering about 60 per cent yield loss, forcing me to abandon the project,? she says. According to the Cotton Development Organisation (CDO) statistics, weeds and insect pests or the bollworms cause as high as 80 to 100 per cent yield losses to some cotton farmers in Uganda and discourage the farmers who grow the crop. In a move that would address both challenges, Uganda has started tasting its first-ever genetically-modified cotton (GM cotton). The two-type GM cotton varieties-Herbicide Tolerant (Ht) Cotton and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton- are being tasted by scientists at the National Semi-Arid Resource Research Institute (NaSARRI) at Serere in Soroti District. And they are showing early indicators of pest-resistance and herbicide-tolerance. NaSARRI Director Thomas Areke says Bt cotton has the ability to withstand bollworms and Ht cotton tolerates roundup chemicals sprayed to destroy weeds in confined fields trial (CFT) sites at Serere and Mubuku in Kasese district. ?The crops are vigorously growing and have flowered without any disease, pest or weed infestations,? Dr Areke told a Cotton CFT sensitisation seminar held at NaSARRI on October 7. He says they ventured into improving the crop using biotechnology to get varieties that would increase productivity and benefit farmers. Uganda farmers need better pest control measures and weed management opportunities, scientists have to look for technologies that can enhance production, Dr Areke added. He also said the crop is environmentally friendly because it reduces the spread of chemicals. According to Mr Pius Elobu, the Trial Manager, Bt cotton produces a protein that paralyses the larvae of some harmful insect, including the cotton bollworm. He says though tests are promising, both varieties have not yet been released. ?They are still under confinement. I assure the public that what the research here, has not gone out and will not be released until the National Biosafety law that guides the operation of biotechnology is enacted,? Mr Elobu, a senior research scientist at NaSARRI said. According to Elobu, research on GM cotton started at a confined stage with 20 kilogrammes of BT cotton seeds which were shipped into the country from Monsanto, a US-based agro-dealer company. In Uganda, GM cotton is a second genetically modified crop currently being tested after bananas. The testing however, comes at a time when genetically modified organisms (GMO) crops are facing criticism all over the world. Those opposing the technology claim the crops may have future side-effects to human beings. But Dr Theresa Sengooba, the Regional Coordinator of Programme for Biosafety System (PBS) says people should not have to worry about the new technology under test. She says the GM cotton, which is under trial is an aspect of biotechnology, a tool people have lived with for some time. Biotechnology in form of GMOs is not unique, ?It?s one of the tools scientists worldwide have been using to improve crop productivity,? Dr Sengooba, who was giving a key-note address on Confined field trials (CFTs) and what next after CFTs, explained. She says 60 per cent of cotton produced in the world is GM cotton. ?And if this technology is being utilised elsewhere in the world, why we don?t try it in Uganda?? she asked. The scientist says the new technology would not deny farmers from applying indigenous knowledge currently used in growing cotton. Dr Sengooba explained that those questioning Uganda?s ability to handle GMOs should understand that the country has capacity to carryout substantial research on the technology and once the product reaches commercialisation stage, those involved in the study would build capacities. The project is funded by Usaid, through Naro and the Agriculture Biotechnology Support Project (ABSP II) as well as PBS based at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Mr Amos Mugisha, the chairman of the Uganda Ginners and Cotton Exporters Association said once the two varieties are released for commercialisation, they (varieties) would benefit small scale farmers. He said, more cotton would be produced to feed ginneries that are currently operating below capacity at 30 percent. He said in Uganda, most cotton farmers are peasants who own one to five acres gardens. And given that they are smallholder farmers, they find weeding a major constraint since they have to weed up to six times during the growing season. However, Mr Mugisha suggested that researchers should combined the two varieties into one product that would withstand pests and tolerant to roundup. Cotton growing had declined due to conflicts in the sector, pests and diseases, unstable international market prices and drought. However, since most Uganda?s cotton is exported in its row form, it is currently contribute only 1.5 per cent to the country?s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). *------------------------------------------------------------* *GLOBAL 8 -BILL GATES SAYS IDEOLOGY THREATENS HUNGER FIX* by Christine Stebbins and Roberta Rampton 15-October-2009 Reuters DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - The fight to end hunger is being hurt by environmentalists who insist that genetically modified crops cannot be used in Africa, Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of software giant Microsoft, said on Thursday. Gates said GMO crops, fertilizer and chemicals are important tools -- although not the only tools -- to help small farms in Africa boost production. "This global effort to help small farmers is endangered by an ideological wedge that threatens to split the movement in two," Gates said in his first address on agriculture made during the annual World Food Prize forum. "Some people insist on an ideal vision of the environment," Gates said. "They have tried to restrict the spread of biotechnology into sub-Saharan Africa without regard to how much hunger and poverty might be reduced by it." The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in recent years has turned its focus to helping poor, small-holder farmers grow and sell more crops as a way to reduce hunger and poverty. The foundation, which has committed $1.4 billion to agricultural development efforts, announced on Thursday nine new grants worth a total of $120 million aimed at raising yields and farming expertise in the developing world. Funding will go to legumes that fix nitrogen in the soil, higher-yielding varieties of sorghum and millet, and new varieties of sweet potatoes that resist pests, Gates said. The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) will get $15 million to help train analysts and encourage farmer-friendly policies on seeds, markets, land tenure and women's rights in five countries that have made strides in developing agriculture. "Externally imposed solutions do not necessarily work," AGRA President Namaga Ngongi told Reuters, noting "people who are likely to live with the consequences of the decisions if they do not work" need to be more involved. Gates told the World Food Prize forum, which honors people who make major contributions to reducing hunger, that farmers need training and access to markets, not just new seeds. "People are always telling me not to be too naive about the path from the trials to the breakthrough advance to how that will get out to the small-holder," Gates said. The World Food Prize was established by Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Prize-winning scientist known as "the father of the Green Revolution" for his work with rice and wheat. Gates acknowledged the first Green Revolution had negative impacts on the environment as it dramatically raised yields. "The next Green Revolution has to be greener than the first," Gates said. "It must be guided by small-holder farmers, adapted to local circumstances, and sustainable for the economy and the environment." The Gates Foundation is working with research partners on drought-tolerant maize using both conventional crop-breeding techniques and biotechnology, Gates said, noting he hopes seeds will be available in two or three years. The impact of those new varieties could help convince skeptics of the benefits of biotechnology, he said. "The technologies will be licensed royalty free to seed distributors so that the new seeds can be sold to African farmers without extra charge," Gates said. "I hope that the debate over productivity will not slow the distribution of these seeds," Gates said. He also called on research companies to adapt technology to the needs of small farmers, and to make them available without royalties in the poorest counties. African governments must invest in the work, Gates said, and rich counties that have pledged to increase funding for development must spell out the details of their plans. "How much is old money, how much is new, how soon can they spend it, and when will they do more?" Gates said. *------------------------------------------------------------* *9-UNRAVELING OF THE SORGHUM GENOME WILL HELP IMPROVE DRYLAND CROPS *13-October-2009 ICRISAT Press Release The announcement of the unraveling of the genome of sorghum, one of the mandate crops of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), will strengthen the Institute?s research for the improvement of sorghum and other food crops. The sequencing of the sorghum genome was announced in a scientific article published on 29 January 2009 in the journal Nature. The global team of scientists that reported the genome sequencing was led by Prof Andrew Paterson of the University of Georgia, USA, and included ICRISAT?s Cereal Breeder, Dr C Tom Hash. Sorghum is the second food crop from the grass family to have its genome fully sequenced. The first one was rice. Sorghum is the first crop with the more efficient C4 photosynthesis system to be sequenced. Sugarcane, maize and pearl millet are other grasses with the C4 photosynthesis system that should benefit from this. Plants that have a C4 photosynthesis system have a competitive advantage over plants possessing the more common C3 carbon fixation pathway under conditions of drought and high temperatures. While a significant portion of the water taken up by C3 plants is lost through transpiration, this loss is much lower for C4 plants, demonstrating their advantage in a dry environment. According to Dr William Dar, Director General of ICRISAT, the unraveling of the sorghum genome is the first such breakthrough for a dryland agricultural crop that is adapted to drought. ?The sequence of sorghum genome will provide us a better understanding on genes that make sorghum, as compared to other cereals, more drought tolerant.? ICRISAT will combine the new knowledge on the sorghum genome sequence with its expertise on molecular-marker assisted crop selection and breeding to develop improved sorghum varieties and hybrids for desirable traits, say with improved drought tolerance or improved disease resistance. Candidate genes identified for drought tolerance or pest resistance can be used to understand natural variation in ICRISAT?s sorghum germplasm collection comprising of more than 36,000 accessions with a final objective to identify superior variants for using in breeding crops. The genome sequence is already contributing to development of additional molecular markers for economically important sorghum traits, and for identification of specific genes that control them. This in turn is leading to more efficient crop breeding methods ? particularly those based on marker-assisted selection for naturally occurring genetic variation ? which will reduce the time required to develop grain, forage, and sweet sorghum varieties and hybrids having improved agronomic performance, stress tolerance, pest resistance and product quality. The availability of genome sequence data should enhance genomics-assisted breeding in sorghum. For instance, a few hundred molecular markers, genomics tools that are used in marker-assisted selection, were available in sorghum until 2 to 3 years ago; genome sequence data has now provided more than 71,000 microsatellite marker candidates. ?We believe that availability of genome sequence combined with modern genomics approaches should boost our breeding activities to develop the desirable breeding lines. Genes identified in sorghum would not be useful only for sorghum but other cereal/plant species as well, especially for enhancing drought tolerance,? Dr Dar said. The paper published in Nature shows that different cereals such as rice, wheat, barley, maize, sorghum and pearl millet show similarities in gene number and gene order, since they derived from a common ancestor. This allows the use of genomic resources from one cereal species to improve another species. For instance, based on the sequence data of sorghum and rice, molecular markers have been developed and are being used in pearl millet, another mandate crop for ICRISAT. Sorghum, a mandate crop of ICRISAT, is the fifth most important and relatively drought tolerant cereal crop that is the dietary staple of more than 500 million people in more than 30 countries of semi-arid tropics. It is grown on 42 m ha in 98 countries of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. ICRISAT has been working for more than three decades for improving sorghum for food and feed proposes. Furthermore, sweet sorghum has emerged as a feedstock for ethanol production. It gives food/feed, fodder and fuel, without significant trade-offs in any of these uses in a production cycle. ICRISAT has pioneered the sweet sorghum ethanol production technology, and its commercialization. Having the genome sequence of sorghum is significant landmark of genomics research for sorghum community in particular and biofuel community in general. For further information, contact Dr C Tom Hash at c.hash at cgiar.org or Dr Rajeev Varshney at r.k.varshney at cgiar.org. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *DISCLAIMER*: Articles that are posted in this news service do not necessarily reflect the views of SEARCA. To post in e-group, e-mail bic at searcaweb.org. To UNSUBSCRIBE, click here . [image: Subscribe A Friend] [image: Subscribe A Friend] [image: ISAAA Celebrates the Life of its Founding Patron, Nobel Peace Laureate] *Scientist achieves breakthrough on mango tissue culture * *SEARCA Tapped as Network Partner of German University in Food Security Center Initiative * *---------------------------------------------------------* *Download available paper and/or presentation handouts of some notable speakers presented at SEARCA Agriculture and Development Series. CLICK HERE. * *---------------------------------------------------------* *2009 International Conference on Agricultural Biotech Frontiers* *National Chiayi University, Chiayi City, Taiwan 30 - 31 October 2009* *AgriBiotech and Crop Protection Markets* *Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 16 - 17 November 2009* *6th International Rice Genetics Symposium* *Manila, Philippines 16 - 17 November 2009* *Philippines' National Biotechnology Week* *Manila, Philippines 22 - 29 November 2009* ** ** *SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center College 4031, Laguna, Philippines Tel +63 49 536 2290 ext 406/169 Fax +63 49 536 4105 E-mail: bic at searca.org* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: