The Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), launched Philippine Traditional Rice Varieties, the country’s first seed catalog of indigenous rice varieties. This catalog is the first publication of the Bureau for traditional rice varieties, according to Dr. Vivencio Mamaril, officer-in-charge of BPI and a project leader at the National Seed Council.

In 2016, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report concluding that biotech crops are safe. This was followed by the declaration of more than 100 Nobel Laureates, together with other scientists, calling upon biotech critics to cease and desist opposition to GM crops. The National Academies report and the Nobel Laureates' action delivered a strong, clear, and resounding message to the world that biotechnology is vital in combating the immense problems of the society: hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and climate change.

Wheat rust, a family of fungal diseases that can cause crop losses of up to 100 percent in untreated susceptible wheats, is making further advances in Europe, Africa and Asia, according to two new studies produced by scientists in collaboration with FAO. The reports, highlighted in the journal Nature following their publication by Aarhus University and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT),

The FAO Food Price Index rose notably in January, led by sugar and cereals, even as global markets remain well supplied.   The FAO Food Price Index averaged 173.8 percent in January, its highest value in almost two years, marking a 2.1 percent increase from its revised December value and 16.4 percent above its 2016 January level.

The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) has established the first early generation seed production entity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to effectively and efficiently supply high quality foundation seed for small and medium enterprise (SME) seed companies on the continent. The establishment, announced on January 30, 2017 by AATF's Executive Director Dr. Denis Kyetere, will be known as QualiBasic Seed.

Research conducted at Queen's University in Canada has discovered the previously unknown means by which plants regulate their immune response to pathogens. A study co-authored by Queen's plant biologist Jacqueline Monaghan looked at how plant immune systems work to respond to threats, and how plants regulate their responses to pathogens to avoid negative impacts to their growth and development.

Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country and one of the largest rice consumers. To feed the country, its present rice production of 75 million tons must increase by 2.3% per year through 2019.

FAO 29 January 2017, Addis Ababa - With as little as one-quarter of expected rainfall received, widespread drought conditions in the Horn of Africa have intensified since the failure of the October-December rains, FAO said today.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is leading efforts to combat Lyme disease in the Old Line State. Agency scientists are working with the Howard County (Md.) Department of Recreation & Parks (DRP), and the University of Maryland to study new ways to control deer ticks. The size of a sesame seed, deer ticks – via the backs of mice and white-tailed deer – spread the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) released for pre-publication a recommendation to revise the regulations of genetically engineered organisms. According to APHIS, this will be the first extensive amendment of the regulations which were implemented since 1987. "We're pleased that USDA's proposal recognizes that some applications of gene editing result in plant varieties that are essentially equivalent to varieties developed through more traditional breeding methods, and treats these varieties accordingly," said Andy LaVigne, President and CEO of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA).