Reducing poverty is one of IRRI’s primary goals. Through the coordinated efforts of IRRI and our more than 900 partners worldwide, we have made headway toward achieving this seemingly insurmountable objective.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have passed a new law that will allow EU member states to restrict or ban the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops on their own territory, even if this is allowed at EU level. The legislation, originally tabled in 2010, but was then deadlocked for four years due to disagreement between pro- and anti-GMO member states, was informally agreed by Parliament and Council in December, and will come into force in spring of 2015.

16 January 2015, Berlin – Increasing competition for natural resource and emerging resource bottlenecks mean that global agriculture can no longer operate using a "business as usual" approach – the input-intensive agricultural development model used for the past 40 years is no longer sustainable, and a "paradigm shift" in food production is needed.

The National Zero Hunger Challenge (ZHC), a major initiative to eradicate hunger in Viet Nam, was launched today by the Government of Viet Nam in collaboration with the United Nations, including FAO. The launch, led by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dũng along with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, and other leaders of line ministries symbolized the Government of Viet Nam's commitment to achieving Zero Hunger by 2025.

Texas A&M University and Texas A&M AgriLife Research are set to use molecular tools to solve the global cotton market demand for longer, stronger fibers for spinning and weaving. One of the challenges that cotton breeders face in the improvement of fiber quality is low genetic diversity among elite, agronomically acceptable genotypes of upland cotton.

The global agri-biotech market sustains growth reaching US$27.8 billion by the end of 2014, according to the report released by BCC Research, a market research company based in the U.S. The global market for agri-biotech was US$26.4 in 2013. With the projected compound annual rate of 11 percent over the next five years, it is expected that the global market for agri-biotech might reach US$46.8 billion by 2019.

Kansas State University scientists Dr. Harold Trick and Allan Fritz are developing biotech wheat that has the ability to tolerate warmer temperatures during the critical grain filling stage. During this stage, extreme temperatures can cause shrivelled kernels and significant yield losses.

The Indonesian Biotechnology Information Center (IndoBIC) held a seminar on Stewardship of Late Blight Resistant Potato for farmers, agricultural officers, and scientists on December 18, 2014 at SEAMEO BIOTROP headquarters. Some 32 participants and speakers comprised of agricultural officials, farmers, and representatives from research institutions attended this event through the support of the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project (ABSP II) in collaboration with IndoBIC and ICABIOGRAD, ISAAA, and SEAMEO BIOTROP

The Forum of Former Vice Chancellors of Karnataka State Universities (FVCK) and the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises Agricultural Group (ABLE-AG) released a new book titled GM Crops: Perception versus Reality written by Dr. T. M. Manjunath and Dr. K. S. Mohan. The authors have more than 40 years of research experience in plant protection and biotechnology.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cleared the regulatory status of planting genetically modified tall fescue developed by Scotts Miracle-Gro. The glyphosate resistant turfgrass variety has genes from other plants which were incorporated into the plant cell using a gene gun.