Scientists from University of California, Davis and partners successfully completed the first whole-genome sequence of fast-neutron-induced mutations of a model variety of rice known as Kitaake which has a short life cycle of just nine weeks. This collection will help speed up genetic research in rice and other monocots that can be used as biofuels.

A one-day workshop on biosafety was held at Academy of Scientific Research and Technology on July 9, 2017 under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Abdel Monem ElBanna, the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and Prof. Mahmoud Sakr, President of ASRT.

Blackman et al. (1) assess the forest cover impacts of providing indigenous Peruvian communities with formal title to land they have long inhabited. We applaud the authors’ use of high-quality forest change data and rigorous causal methods; both are critical gaps in the land tenure and forest change literature (2).

To address high malnutrition among children in four poverty-stricken districts in Bangladesh, a pilot project with partners across the peanut value chain was launched recently. “The project builds an ecosystem of partnerships to deliver nutritional and livelihood outcomes on a large scale through innovations along the peanut value chain.

A recent study by scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and partners has identified that the principles of adaptive co-management provides guidance for the design of effective landscape-level governance in dryland pastoral settings. The newly published article draws attention to the cross-scale and cross-level interactions in rangelands and how these affect governance of the landscapes.

2016 was the first year of work towards the 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). IFAD’s new Strategic Framework 2016-2025  came into effect, outlining how we will contribute to the 2030 Agenda. It sets three strategic objectives to guide our work: increasing rural poor people’s capacity to produce, increasing their benefits from market participation,

In the Tanganyika province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, going to a health centre often means traveling long distances over poor roads, while carrying a sick child and supplies. WHO’s Rapid Access Expansion Programme (RAcE) is bringing diagnosis and treatment for malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhoea – the three deadliest childhood diseases – into remote communities.

The event was held at the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) under the auspices of the Rice Straw Management Project of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Prof. Ngo Bunthan, RUA rector, highlighted the importance of mechanizing agriculture for Cambodia and the need to manage rice straw better.

Under the Paris Agreement, countries are ramping up to meet their climate change commitments while also moving toward their Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets. CIFOR is working at the nexus of climate change, energy and low-carbon development to deliver integrated ecological, social and economic information to policy makers and practitioner communities in these countries. We also support, with information, analysis and tools, actors working in the international climate policy arena.

Since late 2015, Viet Nam was affected by the El Nino phenomenon and the regions of the Central Highlands, South Central Region and Mekong Delta experienced the most severe drought in the past 90 years, with 18 provinces declaring state of emergency. From this event, one million people were in need of food assistance and 1.75 million people lost incomes due to damaged or lost livelihoods. The Government of Viet Nam has also estimated its economic loss to USD 674 million.