Intensifying rice production has been increasingly dependent on machines to speed up the work, such as for harvesting. But what to do about the rice straw that remains in the field? In the old days, rice straw was commonly burned to prepare the field for the next cropping, but the practice has been found to harm the air and environment and is thus no longer encouraged. There are also those who think that rice straw can actually have economic value.

University of Tokyo researchers genetically engineered rice that does not flower until it comes in contact with a specific fungicide. The results are published in Nature Plants. Takeshi Izawa and colleagues developed non-flowering rice plants by overexpressing a floral repressor gene (Grain number, plant height and heading date 7) to block natural flowering.

Photosynthesis, the ability of plants and algae to generate oxygen, evolved only once, roughly 2.3 billion years ago, in certain types of cyanobacteria. This process has never been duplicated, and according to endosymbiotic theory, all the "green" oxygen-producing organisms (plants and algae) simply subsumed cyanobacteria as organelles in their cells at some point during their evolution.

The President of the Republic of Senegal, H.E. Macky Sall has made it clear that he strongly supports the adoption of biotechnology in the country provided necessary biosafety measures are taken. "I must say very clearly that I am for the use of GMOs in addressing our food security needs, so long as the necessary biosafety measures are put in place. Otherwise, we would be against progress, we must decide and step forward, '' said the President.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged nearly 171 points in March, marking a 2.8 percent drop from the previous month while remaining 13.4 percent above its level a year earlier. FAO's Food Price Index is a trade-weighted index tracking international market prices of five major food commodity groups.

Kenyan youth farmers have rallied behind researchers in urging government to allow commencement of National Performance Trials (NPTs) for the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) Bt maize. The farmers were speaking during the 2017 agri-biotech forum held at University of Embu, eastern Kenya on March 29-30, 2017. While expressing his excitement about the technology, a farmer, Paul Musui, said it was not clear why the government is preventing a technology that is being practiced elsewhere from benefitting Kenyan farmers.

FAO and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have agreed to cooperate more closely to support sustainable rice production in developing countries to improve food security and livelihoods while safeguarding natural resources. An agreement signed today seeks to better pool the scientific knowledge and technical know-how of the two organizations so that they can expand and intensify their work globally.

Fighting in Syria has caused huge damage and losses to agricultural production, but the sector can and should be kick-started now, dramatically reducing the need for humanitarian aid and migration, according to a new FAO report published today ahead of an international conference on Syria's future in Brussels.
 

Pakistan's Sindh Seed Council (SSC) assessed 21 new seed varieties of different crops, including 9 cotton varieties – 6 of which are Bt cotton – to improve per acre production of major cash crops. The SSC meeting on March 15, 2017 was led by the provincial agriculture minister where new varieties were considered for consent. After the SSC approval, Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department would issue certificates and new types would be made available for general cultivation

In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Farming Today aired on March 23, 2017, Great Britain's Princess Anne has said genetically modified (GM) crops have important benefits for providing food and she would be open to growing them on her own land. She said "we have to accept" the process could help production and livestock health.