The 1st  Egyptian-Indian workshop on biotechnology with the theme Biotechnology – A Sustainable Approach for Development was held at the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) under the auspices of the Minister of High Education and Scientific Research, Prof. Ashraf Shihi (represented by Prof. Hazem Mansour), and the President of ASRT, Prof. Mahmoud Sakr, on October 25-26, 2015.

Changes at the consumer level, labor shortages, and rising wage rates are expected to shape rice production in a farmer’s field. Small farmers will opt to mechanize rice farming and participate in land consolidation to achieve scale. Thus, the direction of rice farming in Asia will be toward modernization and commercialization and will be integrated along the supply chain.

FAO 10 November 2015, Rome – Pulses, including all kinds of dried beans and peas, are a cheap, delicious and highly nutritious source of protein and vital micronutrients that can greatly benefit people’s health and livelihoods, particularly in developing countries -- that was the UN's message at the launch of the International Year of Pulses 2016 today.

It has been known for decades that plants produce and release chemical substances to fight their neighbors, but it has remained unclear how these compounds act on other plants. A study conducted by German and French scientists shows that one class of plant toxins slows down the development of competing plants by specifically acting on the structure of their genome.

FAO 14 November 2015, Quebec City - Ensuring better nutrition for all and transforming the world’s food systems to ensure their future sustainability represent the two greatest challenges facing FAO as it renews its mission to free the world from hunger and malnutrition, the UN agency's Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, said today.

Unusually heavy and widespread rains that fell recently in northwest Africa, the Horn of Africa and Yemen could favour Desert Locust breeding, FAO warned today, stressing that close monitoring is needed over the next six months to prevent the insects from forming destructive swarms. The locust situation in countries normally affected by Desert Locust remained mostly calm in October with only small-scale breeding activity detected, FAO experts said.

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers reported that ancient Australian native tobacco plant (Nicotiana benthamiana) compromised its immune system  for an early growth spurt to sustain life amidst dry environments. The findings are published in Nature Plants.

Plants are often tricked by stealthy diseases when their defense signaling system gets hacked. A team of international scientists led by Michigan State University is helping plants counter such attacks by boosting their alert system. The team has engineered the receptor for jasmonate, a plant hormone that regulates plant defenses against pathogens and insects.

Various crop production technologies to meet climate change challenges were demonstrated to 200 farmers and several to agricultural officers at a recently held fair to celebrate World Food Day.

An improved rice parboiling system developed by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), combined with training and the adoption of an innovation platform approach along the rice value chain, is starting to make a difference in the lives of more than 450 women in the Glazoué rice hub in central Benin. It shortens processing time, reduces drudgery, and does not expose the women parboilers to heat burns.