A multi-pronged approach including quality seed availability and increased profitability for farmers can help India bridge the demand-supply gap in pulses, says a team of scientists. The 12-point recommendations made in the paper, ‘Leveraging Policies for Self Sufficiency in Pulses in India’, authored by Ranjit Kumar from ICAR and Dr KV Raju from ICRISAT, suggest strategies for policy makers to consider to fill in existing gaps.

To help Vietnam’s technology innovators rest assured that their ICT for agriculture (ICT4Ag) solutions do in fact adequately respond to Vietnamese farmers’ current and important challenges, they, together with farmers, convened at a workshop in which both parties gained a deeper appreciation of the challenges in the field on the one hand, and existing technology solutions on the other.

The improvement of cotton is highly dependent on efficient tissue culture and genetic transformation techniques. Somatic regeneration in cotton is highly genotype-dependent, and a while has gone since a highly regenerative cotton genotype was developed. Nevertheless, a group of scientists developed a new elite genotype for cotton (Jin668) through the Successive Regeneration Acclimation strategy in 2017.

Deoxycytidine monophosphate deaminase (DCD) is a key enzyme in the de novo deoxythymidine triphosphate (dTTP) synthesis. DCD is known to play key roles in cell cycle progression, and plant development. However, not much is known of the function of the DCD gene in Panicoideae plants. Setaria is an ideal model of Panicoideae grasses, especially for C4 photosynthesis research.

Scientists from The University of Sheffield have discovered that developing a high-yielding rice variety with reduced stomatal density helps the crop conserve water and survive high temperatures and drought.

Biofortification of crops through genetic modification can effectively lessen the burden of micronutrient deficiencies in an economically viable way. This is according to review article authored by economics and policy experts from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Ghent University, and European Commission and published in Current Opinion in Biotechnology.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) released the draft Environmental Assessment (dEA) and draft Plant Pest Risk Assessment (dPRA) of genetically engineered (GE) cotton with ultra-low levels of gossypol in the seed (event TAM66274). The documents were made available for public comment to be considered for potential deregulation of the GE cotton variety.

The Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Act, 2014 was enacted by the Parliament of Uganda in 2013, and assented to by President Yoweri Museveni in 2014. The legislation was formulated to recognize and protect breeders' rights over the varieties they develop, and promote appropriate mechanisms for fair and equitable benefit sharing from the use of plant varieties, knowledge, and technologies. However, nearly four years on, the Act is yet to be operationalized.

Intervening early in countries predicted to be hit by natural disasters can prevent threats from becoming humanitarian emergencies, or can mitigate their impacts, according to a new report released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today. For every $1 FAO spent on early livestock interventions in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia in early 2017, as herders braced for another harsh drought, each family saw benefits worth up to $9 due to less animals dying of hunger and disease, and producing up to three times more milk.

IRRI is working together with Vietnam to accelerate the translation of innovations that support sustainable rice value chain upgrading through policy recommendations and high technology options. During the Vietnam Industry 4.0 Summit and Expo 2018, IRRI’s Head of the Agri-food Policy Platform, Dr. Jean Balie,  presented strategies and opportunities for the application of cutting edge technologies that support Vietnam’s vision of developing a smart agriculture sector.