The world has been put on a heightened famine alert with a new report by two United Nations agencies that contains a stark warning; four countries contain areas that could soon slip into famine if conditions there undergo "any further deterioration over the coming months". These are Burkina Faso in West Africa's Sahel region, northeastern Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen.

In a Joint Press Statement of the 42nd Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF), the ministers stressed the importance of the sustained significant investment in rice research-for-development by One CGIAR and its partner donors in view of the significant challenges in nutrition, sustainability, livelihoods, and climate change resilience in the region.

Benoit and his co-authors sequenced the genome of screwworms and identified ways of slashing populations by targeting particular genes that determine sex and control growth and development or even particular behaviors that help the flies find a suitable animal host. The study was led by entomologist Maxwell Scott at North Carolina State University. Scott said that their main goal was to use the genomic information to build strains that produce only males for an enhanced sterile-insect program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) invites the public to comment on a petition from Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. seeking deregulation of genetically engineered (GE) corn variety DP23211. The corn is engineered for insect resistance against corn rootworm and tolerance to glufosinate herbicides.

Farmers in Kenya are finally planting biotech cotton. This is after the Cabinet approved the commercial cultivation of Bt cotton in an effort to revive the cotton industry, boost textile and apparel manufacturing. Bt cotton has been genetically improved to resist infestation by the African Bollworm, the single most destructive cotton pest in Kenya. Over 200 Bt cotton on-farm demonstration plots have so far been planted in western Kenya with plans underway to expand to other parts of the country.

Until recently, the field of plant breeding looked a lot like it did in centuries past. A breeder might examine, for example, which tomato plants were most resistant to drought and then cross the most promising plants to produce the most drought-resistant offspring. This process would be repeated, plant generation after generation, until, over the course of roughly seven years, the breeder arrived at what seemed the optimal variety.

The CGIAR is going through a dynamic reformulation that advances integration of its partnerships, knowledge, assets, and global presence to transform progress in key areas where innovation is needed to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Moving forward, the One CGIAR will implement a phased approach to research delivery with the imperative of seeking multiple benefits across CGIAR’s impact areas

The COVID-19 pandemic is more than a health crisis. Over the last six months, we have witnessed its extreme socio-economic consequences, including grave threats to food security and nutrition. As the pandemic continues to take its toll and make an indelible mark on agri-food systems, organizations like the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), a member of CGIAR, are aligning their efforts to ensure a relevant, timely, and well-coordinated response to safeguard the health and livelihoods of the poorest and most vulnerable.

The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), QU Dongyu, and the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Francesco La Camera, have agreed to benefit from potential synergies and focus on concrete joint action to give farmers greater access to renewable energy and to support food system transformation in rural communities.

For rural people, especially low-income rural people, land and livelihood are one and the same. Access to land means the opportunity to earn a decent income and achieve food and nutrition security, and it can also pave the way for access to social benefits such as health care and education. A lack of secure land access, on the other hand, can disempower rural people and expose them to the combined threats of poverty, hunger and conflict.