The proceedings of the international symposium "The role of agricultural biotechnologies in sustainable food systems and nutrition" organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) on February 15-17, 2016 are now available. The 284-page proceedings, edited by J. Ruane, J.D. Dargie and C.

A Vietnamese farmer is to receive an award next month from FAO Asia Pacific Region in recognition of her outstanding agricultural production achievements in the context of increasing climate change challenges. Pham Thi Huan, from Long An province, will receive a “Model Farmer” award along with others from Fiji, Mongolia, Pakistan and Thailand to mark FAO’s annual World Food Day (WFD) celebrations in the Asia-Pacific region.

The 10 years running until 2025 will be a critical time for action to build healthy and sustainable food systems and end malnutrition in all its forms, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today at an event at the United Nations General Assembly celebrating the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition.
 

World leaders today signalled an unprecedented level of attention to curb the spread of infections that are resistant to antimicrobial medicines. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) happens when bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi develop resistance against medicines that were previously able to cure them.
 

 Harvard University Professor Calestuos Juma (figure) examined why people oppose new technologies such as biotechnology in his new book Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies.

An international conference on how to achieve healthy and sustainable oceans has welcomed the growing support for a ground-breaking FAO-brokered international accord on illegal fishing. The Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (PSMA), is the fruit of years of intense negotiations. It finally came into force in June.

Plant breeding innovation has brought significant impacts in European agriculture, such as increase in yield with fewer inputs and less effect on the environment, according to an EU-wide study. The report The Economic, Social, and Environmental Value of Plant Breeding in the European Union was released by Hffa Research GmbH and was commissioned by the European Technology Platform

A new trait stack from Syngenta, Agrisure^® 3120 E-Z Refuge^®, has received registration approval from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Agrisure 3120 E-Z Refuge offers above-ground insect control, featuring two modes of action against corn borer and control of ear-feeding insects, with the convenience of an integrated refuge product.

Despite years of research efforts, it has been remarkably difficult to develop efficient methods for transformation (i.e., genetic modification) of grain crops. The most preferred method generally involves Agrobacterium tumefaciens, however, the bacterium infects only a narrow range of grain cultivars, and many cultivars are recalcitrant to regeneration.

The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has approved environmental release (open field cultivation) of MON 15985 event (commonly referred to as Bt cotton) for the purpose of conducting limited National Performance Trials (NPTs). This follows an application submitted by Monsanto Kenya Ltd in October 2015 seeking approval for "environmental release, cultivation and placing on the market."