Researchers at the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA) have commenced the harvest of genetically modified (GM) wheat at the authority's site in Inshas City. The GM wheat has several improved characteristics such as high yielding, tolerance to saline soils, and resistance to water scarcity. The GM wheat can produce over 4 tons per acre, which is almost 1 ton higher than the cultivated Egyptian wheat varieties.

Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. announced on April 29, 2022, that China's Ministry of Agriculture has given its approval for the import and use as a raw material of soybeans produced using Bioceres' proprietary drought tolerance technology, HB4®. Beijing Da Bei Nong Science and Technology Group Co. Ltd., Bioceres' partner in China has confirmed the approval.

Princess Basma bint Ali of Jordan was today named a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Goodwill Ambassador for Near East and North Africa. In her new role the Princess will help FAO raise awareness about the importance of transforming the world's agrifood systems, to overcome the challenges of persisting and growing hunger. FAO’s Director-General QU Dongyu noted that Her Royal Highness has been a long-time supporter of FAO and a passionate and articulate advocate of biodiversity conservation worldwide and said

Qu was speaking in Seoul at the opening of the XV World Forestry Congress, in a ceremony also addressed by Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea, Princess Basma bint Ali of Jordan, a newly designated FAO goodwill ambassador, the Republic of Korea’s Forest Service Minister Choi Byeong-am and International Forestry Students’ Association President Magdalena Jovanovic. UN Secretary-General  António Guterres also spoke via a video message delivered by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.

A new study finds tremendous potential for continuous improvement and mathematical methods to improve breeding schemes, leading to better crops for farmers. The Frontiers in Plant Science paper — authored by the CGIAR Excellence in Breeding team, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and partners — lays out the potential of systematizing breeding as an industrial process and ensuring programs adopt a culture of continuous improvement.

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death worldwide, with atherosclerosis being the most common source of clinical events. Metabolic changes with aging associate with concurrent increased risk of both type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, with the former further raising the risk of the latter. The activity of a selective type of autophagy, chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA), decreases with age or upon dietary excesses. Here we study whether reduced CMA activity increases risk of atherosclerosis in mouse models

Experts from the Building an Economically Sustainable Integrated Cassava Seed System, Phase 2 (BASICS-II) have shared insights encouraging cassava farmers to access and benefit from improved cassava planting materials for the 2022 planting season. They highlighted these during a recent webinar for experts and farmers, organized with the GIZ Green Innovation Centres for the Agriculture and Food Sector (GIAE) and IITA Cassava and Maize Value Chain Project.

With the world facing multiple crises including, COVID-19, conflicts, climate crisis and biodiversity loss, our forests can help us recover from their impact, but only if we step up action to unlock their potential. In a key report launched today, the State of the World’s Forests Report 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) sets out three pathways for doing that: halting deforestation; restoring degraded land and expanding agroforestry and sustainably using forests and building green value chains.

Many measures have been proposed to control varroa mites (Varroa destructor), one of the most significant bee pests globally. These measures include physical and chemical treatments, but researchers are still pursuing other methods to reduce their threat and one of them is through gene drive technology. Existing methods are laborious, not completely effective and may affect the bees.

Through genetic engineering (GE), a photosynthesis enhancement trait was incorporated into hybrid poplar trees that resulted in the trees' increase in speed growth as well as a 53% increase in the production of above-ground biomass. This is proof that plant biotechnology can increase terrestrial carbon capture and storage which is not possible with conventional trees. Decreasing carbon in the atmosphere is an important means to combat climate change.