University of Florida scientists led by tropical plant geneticist Dr. Alan Chambers have developed a tool to unlock the genetic traits that pinpoint the vanilla variety that produces an abundance of beans, grows efficiently and sustainably, with consumer-approved taste. The results of this study are published in a paper in Nature Food. Together with researchers at Elo Life Systems, a North Carolina-based food and agriculture company, Dr. Chambers co-led the generation of a "chromosome-scale" sequencing of vanilla DNA.

As vaccines for COVID-19 reach high efficacy rates and with Britain's approval of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use, the World Health Organization (WHO) pinpoints the next challenge: public acceptance of the vaccine. After the vaccine approval, a system for mass production for sufficient supply, efficient rollout, and equitable access would be laid out. Strategies to drive acceptance and uptake of the vaccines are vital in the process.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved on December 14, 2020, a first-of-its-kind intentional genomic alteration (IGA) in domestic pigs, referred to as GalSafe pigs which could be used for food or human therapeutics. The approval is the first IGA in an animal that the FDA has approved for both human food consumption and potential therapeutic uses. The IGA in GalSafe pigs eliminates alpha-gal sugar on the surface of the pigs' cells. People with Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) may have mild to severe allergic reactions to alpha-gal sugar found in red meat including beef, pork, and lamb.

Despite the economic consequences of COVID-19, a growing number of countries around the world today stepped up their investments in long-term development, signalling a greater awareness of the links between hunger, inequality and instability which often spark humanitarian crises. By pledging new funds to the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), they committed to ensure hundreds of millions of rural people in some of the poorest countries can sustainably access nutritious food and earn decent incomes.

On a virtual visit to offices and facilities in Mali, Niger and Nigeria, Dr Jacqueline Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT, interacted with staff updating them on the One CGIAR move, the opportunities it presents and the changes it will bring. The overall aim of the move, she said, was to ensure that research is strong with stable funding with the big focus on nutrition, gender, climate change research and strengthening partnership.Dr Hughes commended work in the region and emphasized the need for documenting impacts supported by metrics.

Demand for peanut oil in India is increasing and a dependable supply of quality seed of varieties that combine both high oil and high oleic traits are highly desirable for increased shelf life and consumer health benefits, said Mr Tushar Tumar from Kedut Foods and Feeds at a recent virtual industry interface meeting hosted by ICAR – Directorate of Groundnut Research. At the same meet, scientists, traders, seed producers and processors discussed the importance of having seed production guidelines in place to ensure high genetic purity in the high-oleic seed value chain.

The soil movement started in the Indian state of Odisha two-and-half years ago through the ICRISAT-led   Bhoochetana project crossed an important milestone with the launch of a soil atlas and two modern soil testing laboratories of international standard. Dr Arun Kumar Sahoo, the State Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, did the honors virtually.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has launched the second phase of the Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab (SIIL-Polder) project titled “Pathways of scaling of agricultural innovations for sustainable intensification in the polders of coastal Bangladesh.” The overall goal of the project is to improve food security, human nutrition and livelihood of the rural communities in the polders through scaling and evaluating pragmatic and feasible farming approaches for more efficient utilization of available land and water resources to sustainably intensify polder-based agriculture.

Timely and robust actions can reduce hunger and human suffering as a result of crises, and that's truer than ever in the wake of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu told participants in the High-Level pledging event for the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the second-largest donor to FAO's humanitarian programme.

A researcher from the University of Eastern Finland conducted a study that investigated the roles of flavonoids and condensed tannins in the silver branch tree's defense system against autumnal moth and ultraviolet B radiation (UVB). The results showed that foliar flavonoids have toxic and deterring effects against insect herbivores.Two experiments were conducted using control and genetically modified (GM) silver birch trees.