The leaders of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UN World Food Programme (WFP) have applauded U.S. President Barack Obama for signing the Global Food Security Act (GFSA). The GFSA supports initiatives that focus on developing agriculture, assisting small-scale food producers, and improving nutrition.

The origins of over two-thirds of the grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural crops countries grow and consume can be traced to ancient breadbaskets in distant parts of the world, according to an exhaustive peer-reviewed report published today.The study, covering 151 crops and 177 countries, marks the first time scientists have quantified the level of interconnectedness of national diets and agricultural economies in terms of non- native plants

Urgent action is needed to provide farming and livelihood support to 385,000 people in parts of Nigeria's northeast where food insecurity is rampant, FAO said today. The resumption of agricultural activities in these areas is of utmost priority to ensure that people can produce enough food for themselves. This includes those who have been internally displaced by the conflict as well as communities who have been hosting them.

The Philippine Rice Information System (PRISM) has won the 2016 Philippine Agriculture and Resources Research Foundation, Inc. (PARRFI) Research and Development Award. PRISM received  the recognition during the recently concluded Syensaya, a series of activities and events held every year for National Science and Technology Week (NSTW).

Research led by Graham Seymour, Professor of Plant Biotechnology in the School of Biosciences at The University of Nottingham has identified a gene that encodes an enzyme which plays a crucial role in controlling softening of the tomato fruit. The gene encodes a pectate lyase, which normally degrades the pectin in the tomato cell walls during ripening.

Researchers at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) led by Associate Professor Meixue Zhou have identified a major gene controlling the tolerance of waterlogging in barley. Barley is Australia's second biggest cereal crop, after wheat, with annual production averaging eight million tonnes, according to Professor Zhou

A team of researchers from Canada and China has identified 'superstar' rice varieties that can reduce fertilizer loss, cutting costs and reducing pollution in the process. The identified rice varieties belong to both Indica (the world's most popular rice type grown in India, China and Southeast Asia) and Japonica (rice used in sushi) genotypes.

“Treating a yellow fever patient is reliant on having the right diagnosis. This is dependent on having the necessary laboratory capacity to quickly identify the disease,” says Dr Pierre Formenty, an expert in haemorrhagic fevers at WHO and Manager of the Emerging Dangerous Pathogens Laboratory Network. Yellow fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes.

A recent study published in the International Journal of Biotechnology demystifies the belief that releasing a GM crop costs tens, if not hundreds, of millions of U.S. dollars. The study assessed the cost and time of developing a GM late blight resistant (LBr) potato variety for deregulation and release as a public good, in a specific developing country.

As Le Huong Giang, 28, bounces her healthy 10-month-old son in her lap, she recalls her breastfeeding worries and proud accomplishments from the past year. While pregnant, she was worried she would not be able to feed Huy only breast milk for the first 6 months of his life. Her views began to change, however, when she saw a television advertisement months before giving birth. Produced by a programme known as “Alive & Thrive”, the ad showed cute babies “talking” about the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding and told mothers how they could access breastfeeding support.