Global food prices dipped in August, mainly as the prospect of bumper cereal harvests pushed up expectations for larger grain inventories.

The FAO Food Price Index declined 1.3 percent from July, averaging 176.6 points in August.

The drop was largely driven by a 5.4 percent decline in the FAO Cereal Price Index, reflecting a sharp fall in wheat prices as the outlook for production in the Black Sea region improved.

ISAAA releases a new Pocket K titled Biotech-improved Animals. This mini publication presents GE animals that have been developed to address various concerns such as disease spread, food production, and environmental pollution. Examples of GE animals discussed were GM mosquito, GE salmon, glowing fish, eco-friendly pig, and bird flu-resistant chicken. Download a free copy from the ISAAA website.

Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) and other viral pathogens harm soybean production and often lead to significant yield loss and quality deterioration. Thus, scientists from Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences in China used RNAi-mediated silencing to control SMV. Their study is published in Transgenic Research. The researchers isolated a replicase gene from the SMV SC3 strain, driven by the leaf-specific rbcS2 promoter from common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), and introduced into soybean.

Agriculture Ministers from five countries in South America have urged the European Union (EU) and China to stop delaying GMO import authorizations. The Agriculture Ministers of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay participated in the XXXIV Regular Meeting of the Southern Agricultural Council (CAS) in San Pablo, Brazil on August 29, 2017.

The Vegetable Industry Council of Southern Mindanao (Vicsmin) in the Philippines has expressed its full support for the commercial planting of Bt eggplant in the country. This came after Vicsmin officers and members signed a one-page manifesto of support during the roundtable discussion on Bt Eggplant held on September 4, 2017 in Davao City. Vicsmin, a non-profit organization that advocates policies beneficial to the vegetable industry in the region, has 40 active member institutions and 20 individual farmers.

The primary light reaction of photosynthesis in plants happens at photosystem II (PSII), a membrane-embedded supramolecular machine that catalyzes the water-splitting reaction. Surrounding the PSII is a number of peripheral antenna complexes that dynamically associate with it to form the PSII-LHCII supercomplexes of variable sizes in response to different light conditions.

There is a great need to quickly disseminate water-saving technologies to the farmers of Bangladesh, according to Md. Toufiqul Alam, additional secretary of the country's Ministry of Agriculture. 

With that goal, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) organized an inception meeting for the project

During the seminar to launch ISAAA Brief 52 at Yezin Agricultural University, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on August 26, 2017, Myanmar Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI), Dr. Tin Htut, highlighted how biotech cotton introduction in the country benefited resource-poor cotton farmers. Since 2006, Bt cotton was cultivated by an increasing number of farmers, which in 2016 numbered 460,000.

More than one third of Americans think that non-GMOs do not have genes, according to the results of the Michigan State University Food Literacy and Engagement Poll. When the 1,059 US residents aged 18 and up were asked whether "is it true that GM foods have genes and non-GM do not," 37% said that the statement is true, and 63% said that the statement is false. Almost the same percentage (38%) claimed that their understanding of the global food system is higher than the average.

By 2050, Nigeria will be the third most populous nation in the world, according to the projections of the United Nations. At present, Nigeria ranks 7th, with around 200 million population.

"Our population is expanding while our agricultural production is low. We need biotechnology, which will bring multiple food production in a limited period," said Prof. Lauwali Abubakar