Scientist Dwinita Wikan Utami from the Indonesian Center for Agricultural Biotechnology and Genetic Resources Research and Development and colleagues conducted a study to validate the functionality of a bacterial leaf blight (BLB) resistance gene variant (Xa7) on different candidate rice germplasms. The research team used expression analysis through real time RT-PCR and field evaluation.

The European Innovation Partnership (EIP) for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability is one of the main initiatives of the European Commission to support research and innovation in agriculture

An international team of scientists from China and Singapore have sequenced the genome of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis). Scientists from Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Genome Institute Singapore (GIS), and China's Huazhong Agricultural University and their colleagues compared the sweet orange's genome with pummelo (C. grandis) and mandarin (C. reticulata) using simple sequence repeat and single-nucleotide polymorphism markers.

Texas A&M University and the Buffett Foundation worked on a research project to develop new cowpea varieties that would contribute to food production in tropical and subtropical countries of the world.

Biotech crops are safe, said National Center for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB) Director, Wasiu Odofin, during an interview. He explained that many countries have been using genetically modified food and feed and if these are not safe many would have died. GM food are now in all markets and we are all consuming them in various forms.

Scientists in Tanzania want the strict Liabilities Act under the Environmental Management Act (2004) repealed to enable them to start research on how the country can start using genetically engineered crops.

The 3^rd International Symposium on Genomics of Plant Genetic Resources (GPGR 3) will be held on 16-19 April 2013 at the International Convention Center, Jeju, South Korea. The theme of GPGR3 is "a gateway to the new era of global food security". Participants will discuss various issues related to plant genetic resources,  new sequencing technologies, conservation and crop productivity.

A global team led by researchers from the University of Minnesota warns that decreasing financial support for research and new strains of deadly viruses could threaten the world's food supply, leaving millions without access to affordable food. This warning was included in a new paper from a study that examined how Ug99 could continue its movement across Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia.

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and cooperators have provided details on the chemical composition and potential bioavailability of nutritious compounds in a representative group of five colorful rice varieties. The findings could help breeders select for these traits from among 18,000 rice samples, called accessions.

The national convention of AUSVEG which is the national peak industry body representing Australia's 9,000 vegetable and potato growers will be held on 30 May to 1 June at Jupiters Gold Coast. Experts from all over the globe will be featured to provide participants with food production technologies for the future.

In a press release by PG Economics, biotech crops on its sixteenth year of commercialization has delivered an unparalleled level of farm income benefits to farmers and provided considerable environmental benefits to countries planting biotech crops.

Researchers have identified maize parental lines and hybrids with high levels of drought tolerance among the early and the extra-early maturing maize genotypes developed and conserved in the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

Biosciences for Farming in Africa (B4FA) published a book written by experts in Africa explaining the benefits of GM technology in improving agriculture in simple language. The book titled Insights: Africa's Future…Can Biosciences Contribute? contains 18 personal essays addressing the grand challenge for scientists and entrepreneurs: how to produce 70 percent more food sustainably, enough to feed the expected world population of 9 billion in 2050.

A team of scientists from South Dakota State University (SDSU) is developing drought and heat tolerant wheat varieties using germplasm from Alexandria University in Egypt. The team led by SDSU Assistant Professor Jai Rohila, seeks to discover the genes for drought and heat tolerance and use them to prepare South Dakota wheat for the dry and hot years.

Sir Mark Walport, the newly appointed chief scientific adviser of the United Kingdom government claimed that the rise of genetically modified (GM) crops is 'inexorable' and more of these crops could be grown in Britain as the scientific case for their use becomes "stronger".

 Matty Demont from Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) and other rice researchers published a review on the global value of biotech rice discussing the expected agronomic and consumer benefits of the crop.

An international team led by Kansas Universit  y Professor Bikram Gill have developed a physical map of wheat's wild ancestor Aegilops tauschii, more commonly known as goatgrass. The physical map is the team's first step towards sequencing the wheat genome.

Six months after the launch of the $25.2M NEXTGEN Cassava project at Cornell University, scientists on the project have released Cassavabase, a database that promotes open access data sharing.

An international team, led by Dr. Zhangjun Fei at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Dr. Yongsheng Liu at Hefei University of Technology and Dr. Hongwen Huang at South China Botanical Garden, has sequenced and assembled a draft genome of kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis).

A workshop was organized by the Egypt Biotechnology Information Center (EBIC) entitled "Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops - Challenges and Opportunities" on March 24, 2013 at the Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University. Eminent scientists from different Institutes, universities, media and policy makers from the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment attended the workshop.