The Port State Measures Agreement "marks the dawn of a new era in the effort to combat illegal fishing" but rapid action is needed to make sure its implementation is effective, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today at an event held to celebrate the world's first international treaty specifically aimed at tackling Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.

India's Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has proposed to tap farms of chosen universities for scientific field trials of GM crops. GEAC has identified 40 agricultural universities with large isolated fields in different areas of the country under varied agro-climatic conditions. This proposition was also suggested by scientist M.S. Swaminathan, who said that such arrangement would provide a uniform method of assessment of GM crops.

According to the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation's 2016 Food and Health Survey, Americans remain divided in their perceptions of GMO labeling and their use in the food supply. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that GMO foods be labeled only if they have substantial differences from their non-GMO counterparts

A new study from Carnegie Institution for Science reveals how the regulation of stomata development in grasses could be used to improve plant efficiency and agricultural yield. Their work focused on the stomata of grasses, a family that includes maize, rice, and wheat. Scientists studied stomata in grasses since their stomata show several unique innovations.

The benefits to the farming community of partnerships between public research institutes and private companies have been demonstrated in East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, India, where machine transplantation has reduced the cost of cultivation by half, as well as increased yields by around 750 kg per ha.

In 2013, Kenya’s Ministry of Health was faced with a debate over the alarming rate of women dying in childbirth: was the cause deep-rooted cultural values, or could lives be saved with policy interventions?

Hanoi, Viet Nam. An FAO-supported kick-off workshop was held today in Ha Noi to enhance bio-energy sustainability in Viet Nam through use of Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) indicators.
 

The recent period of high agricultural commodity prices is most likely over, say the OECD and FAO in their latest 10-year Outlook. But the two organisations warn of the need to be vigilant as the probability of a major price swing remains high.

The United Nations food standards body Codex Alimentarius Commission is meeting in Rome from 27 to 30 June 2016 to examine food safety and quality standards.

Respiratory diseases are common ailments in calves. Hubert Pausch from the Chair of Animal Breeding at the Technical University of Munich in Germany and his team have traced a gene mutation in cattle responsible for it — a recessive mutation that alters the structure of the cilia of the airways. It only manifests in homozygous animals, where both parents were carriers of the mutation.