The number of food insecure people in Yemen has risen by 3 million in seven months, with an estimated 17.1 million people now struggling to feed themselves, according to a joint assessment by three UN agencies. Of the 17.1 million food insecure people, about 7.3 million are considered to be in need of emergency food assistance.

Drought throughout East Africa has sharply curbed harvests and pushed the prices of cereals and other staple foods to unusually high levels, posing a heavy burden to households and special risks for pastoralists in the region.

No effective chemical treatment is available for wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), a major threat in wheat-growing areas of the world. In 2011, WSMV resistance was identified on chromosome 3BS and named the gene Wsm2. Effective molecular markers closely linked to the target genes are the key to the success of marker-assisted selection on traits such as WSMV resistance

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has granted permission to Rothamsted Research to conduct field trials of wheat plants genetically modified (GM) to carry out photosynthesis more efficiently. The field trial will evaluate the performance of the engineered plants in the field.

Farmers in Lamongan, Indonesia are ready to use biotechnology to support corn self-sufficiency program in the country. This was stated by some 35,000 farmers from Lamongan and surrounding districts who attended the Farmer Meeting and Corn Harvest event in Lamongan, East Java, Indonesia on January 24, 2017. High government officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Chairperson of the Presidential Advisory Council, and the IndoBIC director served as resource persons.

Farmers in Kirinyaga County, Central Kenya have reiterated their call on the government to lift the ban on GM food imports that was imposed by a cabinet decision in 2012. The farmers spoke during a field day organized to showcase good performance of the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) maize amid the ravaging drought that continues to be witnessed in most parts of Kenya. This maize variety is the non-transgenic counterpart of the GE maize developed to have resistance against stalk borer pests.

The establishment of a new network to help bridge the estimated US$150 billion financing gap that prevents small rural producers and businesses in developing countries from growing their operations and strengthening rural economies, was announced today.

Just 15 months after governments at the UN agreed a set of bold new global goals on everything from ending poverty and hunger to tackling climate change and insecurity, prospects for global cooperation in a range of areas are looking distinctly dimmer than they did before.

Recognizing the critical role of pulses in achieving food and nutrition security, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP). IYP 2016 created opportunities and encouraged all stakeholders, including national governments, to work towards improving pulses’ productivity and production. More importantly, the focus was on enhancing investments in R4D and extension services to do so.

Venture onto any small farm in Uganda at meal time, and I can guarantee you that you will find beans on your plate. Come to think of it, venture onto any smallholder farm, low income urban home or boarding school across Africa at meal time, and you are more likely than not to find beans or some kind of pulse on your plate.