Our food production, processing and distribution systems are intricately linked with the environment. Sunlight, water, nutrients and a diversity of plants, animals and microbes all have fundamental roles in agricultural production and global food security. Agricultural biodiversity comprises the diversity of genetic resources and species used in agriculture directly or indirectly, including species that support production (e.g., soil organisms and pollinators) and broader ecosystems within which agriculture takes place

Representatives from the Japan and Kano office of Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) visited IITA headquarters on 18 May. The team, led by SAA President and General Manager Dr Makoto Kitanaka, came to strengthen the relationship between IITA and SAA. To achieve this, SAA decided to identify new areas of partnership and extend the existing partnership to other countries where SSA and IITA hubs are located.

A new CRISPR-Cas9-based vector system that can deliver the target gene-of-interest into plants while removing undesired genetic traces was developed in Canada. The new system features controllable auto-excision through its core design of embedded multi-clonal sequence and the use of inducible promoters to control the expression of the Cas9 nuclease.

The genetically modified herbicide tolerant (GMHT) cotton that was planted for 2 years in China did not exhibit any harmful effects on the arthropod community and was observed to have the same abundance and diversity of the insects as that of its near-isogenic line counterpart. The GMHT cotton variety GGK2, known to have glyphosate tolerance, and its near-isogenic non-GMHT counterpart K312 were planted for two seasons in 2019 and 2020 in an experimental station in Anyang, Henan, China.

In an extensive review of consumers' perception of the use of genetically modified (GM) crops as food products, evidence showed that consumers were willing to buy and consume foods derived from GM, including gene-edited, plants. The review also states that GM plants in New Zealand for food production are unlikely to have long-term deleterious effects in overseas markets.

An international research team has successfully unraveled the genomes of 418 unique samples of rapeseed from different geographical locations across the globe to identify traits for improved crop yield. The research is a four-year collaboration among scientists from Australia, China, and the United States. The researchers were able to identify the genes behind 56 traits that were modified during rapeseed improvement.

University of Maryland scientists have developed CRISPR-Combo, a new tool for editing several genes in plants while simultaneously modifying the expression of other genes. This breakthrough, published in Nature Plants, allows genetic engineering combinations that work together to enhance the functionality and breeding of new crops. “As a proof of concept, we showed that we could knock out gene A and upregulate, or activate, gene B successfully, without accidentally crossing over and knocking out gene B or upregulating gene A,” said Yiping Qi.

On May 25, 2022, the Government of the United Kingdom introduced a bill to the Parliament to cut red tape and support the development of innovative tech to grow more resistant, more nutritious, and more productive crops. The new legislation, the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill will remove unnecessary barriers to research into new gene editing technology.

Malaria is a deadly disease with approximately 627,000 deaths recorded in 2020 alone. The World Health Organization reports that in 2020, 95 percent of the world's malaria cases and 96 percent of malaria deaths occurred in Africa. Now, Target Malaria, a not-for-profit research consortium, is working with Burkina Faso's Research Institute for Science and Health (IRSS, in French) to develop and share new, cost-effective, and sustainable genetic technologies to fight malaria.

After a two-year lockdown, an international team of banana researchers convenes for a three-day workshop in Arusha to continue forging a path to speed up the breeding process and deliver new bananas to East African farmers. Together with the Hon. Hussein Bashe, Tanzanian Minister of Agriculture, the project partners will also celebrate the release in Tanzania of the first new,