New drought-resilient white beans – most commonly used to make baked beans – will be deployed to Ethiopia, as erratic weather threatens national production and farmers’ incomes. Severe drought in Ethiopia, Africa’s largest exporter of the bean used to make baked beans, could hit production for millions who cultivate and rely on income from the bean

FAO 23 October 2015, Rome - The International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today signed a new strategic partnership aimed at strengthening the livelihoods of rural communities in the Mediterranean region. 

3.9 million people now face severe hunger, tens of thousands on brink of famine. Since the war in South Sudan started nearly two years ago, it is the first time that an IPC analysis has found any parts of the population in phase five (“catastrophe”) on the five-point IPC scale.

Dr. Robert S.”Bob” Zeigler is an internationally respected plant pathologist with more than 30 years of experience in agricultural research in the developing world, most of them involved with rice. He has been the director general (DG) of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for the last 10+ years—the second longest tenure after the Institute’s founding DG, Robert F. Chandler, Jr. (1960-72). As DG, Bob set the Institute’s strategic direction and he has also been a passionate spokesperson on a wide range of issues that affect rice growers and consumers worldwide.

Plants are always surrounded by insects. However, insects bring disaster to the plants, in this case, certain species of leafhoppers transmit bacteria called phytoplasmas, which destroy the life cycle of the plants.

It was estimated that phosphorus stocks in nature will last for the upcoming 60 years, but the researchers of Kazan University looking for ways to prevent the catastrophe. The current dilemma of inorganic phosphorus depletion and pollution caused by excess phytate levels in the soil poses a long-term risk for sustainable agriculture.

Two research teams led by Wolf Frommer at the Carnegie Institution for Science have identified sugar transport proteins which play key roles in various plant processes. The first research team, led by Liang Feng from Stanford University School of Medicine unravelled the molecular structure of a SWEET2 transporter from rice.

FAO 20 October 2015, Rome - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is backing FAO's efforts to combat pandemic animal disease threats in Asia, Africa and the Middle East with an additional $87 million in funding covering the 2015-19 period.
 

FAO 16 October 2015, Milan – Feeding the world’s growing population requires targeted investments to unleash the productive potential of millions living in rural areas, where nearly 80 percent of the world’s  poor are found, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today.

Flower development is regulated by a broad range of stimuli. It is also well known that temperature plays a key role in controlling flowering time. However, the mechanisms of how temperature regulates flowering remain unknown. Nan Ma of China Agricultural University, together with colleagues, studied how low temperature significantly increases petal number in rose (Rosa hybrida).