Three genetically modified (Bt) and indigenously developed varieties of cotton seeds are expected to be commercially released in India for the first time. According to government officials, the cotton seeds PAU-1, RS 2013, and F-1861 have been recommended by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for commercial release.

Governments, civic groups and businesses need to rally support for both immediate relief to people in countries at risk of famine and longer-term initiatives that will allow them to recover and restore their livelihoods, Ambassador Amira Gornass, Chair of the Committee on World Food Security, said today.

"The truth is humanity has always engaged in genetic modifications…The rice we eat or the corn we eat or the wheat we eat does not look like what corn or rice or wheat looked like 1,000 years ago," said former US president, Barack Obama during a speech at the Seeds and Chips Global Food Innovation Summit in Milan, Italy on May 9, 2017. During his speech, he discussed his views on genetic modification and gene editing of food.

The United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) is extending the comment period for their previous notice to the public. Hence, APHIS have reached a preliminary decision to extend the determination of nonregulated status of InVigor^® MS8 canola (hereinafter MS8 canola) to Bayer's canola event MS11 in response to a request from Bayer CropScience LP.

Experts gathered at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in early May to design a training strategy to support smallholder adoption of sustainable best practices.The Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP), an alliance of 70 stakeholder institutions convened by IRRI and UN Environment, will launch an assurance scheme targeting smallholders

The Belt and Road initiative linking China and the Eurasia region can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, provided it addresses the needs of millions of farmers and fisher folk in the countries involved, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today.

FAO has developed supplementary guidelines to the UNFCCC NAP Guidelines for "Addressing Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in National Adaptation Plans (NAP-Ag Guidelines") aiming to support developing countries in making sure agriculture is both included in national adaptation plans and made more adaptive and resilient.

Misinformation on biotechnology is expected to decrease in the U.S. because of the proposed markup in the budget for biotech education. The U.S. House Committee on Appropriations is considering to increase the budget for agriculture spending bill, Fiscal Year 2017 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. US$3 million was proposed to be used by the Food and Drugs Administration and the Department of Agriculture for consumer outreach to promote the understanding and acceptance of agricultural biotechnology and its products.

An international team composed of 77 scientists from 11 countries has reported the first high-quality reference genome sequence of barley. The research, 10 years in the making, reports vital information about the major cereal crop using a variety of state-of the-art methods, and published in the journal Nature. Ten years ago, Nils Stein of the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Germany led the International Barley Genome Sequencing Consortium, and set out to assemble a complete reference sequence of the barley genome.

Amid the prevailing drought and army worms' invasion in Kenya, farmers have petitioned the government to avail of Bt cotton and Bt maize seeds for planting. One of their leaders from the Central region, Mr. Mugo Magondu, voiced out their question about why farmers in Kenya should continue to face these challenges while modern agricultural technology can provide a solution. He said this during a farmer's agri-biotechnology and biosafety sensitization forum held on April 28, 2017.