The Global Partnership Initiative for Plant Breeding Capacity Building (GIPB) brings you:

PLANT BREEDING NEWS

EDITION 185
17 December 2007

An Electronic Newsletter of Applied Plant Breeding

Clair H. Hershey, Editor
chh23@cornell.edu

Sponsored by FAO/AGPC and Cornell University, Dept. of Plant Breeding and Genetics

Archived issues available at: FAO Plant Breeding Newsletter

1.  NEWS, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RESEARCH NOTES
1.01  Research 'must be expanded' to address food prices
1.02  African farmer and world agricultural leader announced as President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
1.03  African Development Bank rice project sows success in West Africa
1.04  New public-private hybrid rice group aims to raise rice yields in the tropics
1.05  West Africa Biosciences Network to improve sorghum breeding in West Africa
1.06  Hybrid Rice Research and Development Consortium (HRDC)
1.07  Project to develop more nutritious sorghum announces scientific breakthrough
1.08  Iran can serve the world in wheat breeding
1.09  China's new high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat boosting domestic production as world prices soar
1.10  China and Mexico team up to fight wheat disease
1.11  Building disease-beating wheat
1.12  Cassava hybrids to improve livelihood in Federal District and state of Goias, Brazil
1.13  Translational Seed Biology Symposium: meeting report
1.14  10^th International Plant Virus Epidemiology Symposium held in India: meeting report
1.15  A brief report on The 8^th African Crop Science Society 2007 Conference
1.16  NIAB scientists visit China to learn about their plant breeding and genetic resources
1.17  Crop research 'must switch to climate adaptation'
1.18  New drought-tolerant plants offer hope for warming world
1.19  Scientists launch $140 million initiative to develop “climate-ready” farming and forestry systems for the world’s poor
1.20  Adapting agriculture to climate change
1.21  UN head calls for more biofuels research
1.22  SciDev.Net explores the biofuel challenge
1.23  Should energy be a product of 21st century agriculture in developing countries? 
1.24  “New agriculture” needs a new FAO - Climate change, population growth and FAO’s own future among key challenges
1.25  Transgenic technology: pro-poor or pro-rich?
1.26  The conservation of global crop genetic resources in the face of climate change
1.27  The experts agree on an equivalent of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for biodiversity
1.28  We are not hardwired to react to the crop diversity crisis
1.29  'Cooling down' begins at Svalbard Global Seed Vault
1.30  Tunisia opens bank of genetic resources
1.31  Global Crop Diversity Trust to ensure the long-term availability of funds for ICRISAT's genebank
1.32  Enhancing crop gene pools with beneficial traits using wild relatives
1.33  Potato species reexamined: revamping relationships among cultivated potatoes
1.34  Tree of life for flowering plants reveals relationships among major groups
1.35  Sources of resistance to ‘groundnut stem necrosis disease’ identified in wild relatives
1.36  Report says gene flow from GM crops not likely to harm environment
1.37  Food safety: Ensuring safe, healthy, nutritious food
1.38  Overview on crop genetic engineering for drought-prone environments
1.39  Gaining insights into international spring wheat genetic enhancement through breeding-informatics
1.40  Specialty maize: global horticultural crop
1.41  Michigan State University research findings may help state's sugar beet growers reap a sweeter future
1.42  Genes identified to protect brassicas from Turnip mosaic virus
1.43  Breeding better canolas
1.44  Tropical traits for temperate beans
1.45  High oleic soybean
1.46  New strains of late blight on potato in the United Kingdom
1.47  Village wheats may fend off stem rust
1.48  Research 'toughening up' Thailand's jasmine rice
1.49  Purdue University researchers seek genes behind rice nutrients to combat malnutrition
1.50  Canadian Wheat Board invests in search for wheat’s molecular “fingerprint”
1.51  Scientists unravel plants' natural defenses
1.52  Toward sequencing the cotton genome
1.53  Maize lines for genetic characterization (fingerprinting) using 1536 SNP molecular markers
1.54  New research to decode the genetic secrets of prolific potato pest
1.55  Turning on the power: New maize protein quality test for developing country labs
1.56  The CNAP Artemisia Research Project: Project update number 2, Autumn 2007
1.57  Excerpts from Update 9-2007 and 10-2007of FAO-BiotechNews

2.  PUBLICATIONS
2.01  Citrus Genetics, Breeding and Biotechnology
2.02  Biotechnology tools for conservation and use of plants: A school play for senior students

3.  WEB RESOURCES
3.01  Abstracts of presentations from UC Davis' International Symposium on Translational Seed Biology now available on the web
3.02  Launching the new website of Sciencedev.net
3.03  Launch of the Russian FAO Biotechnology website
3.04  FAO launches new Arabic newsletter on agricultural biotechnologies
3.05  Calling all young scientists in plant genomics…The Plant Genomics Network

4  GRANTS AVAILABLE
4.01  Generation Challenge Programme fellowships, travel grants and capacity-building

5  POSITION ANNOUNCEMENTS
5.01  Vegetable Breeders (several positions): The World Vegetable Center)
5.02  Maize Molecular Breeder: CIMMYT
5.03  Pome Fruit Breeder/Geneticist (Apples) Vacancy at Washington State University
5.04  Collections manager position at Native Seed/Search
5.05  Vegetable breeding position: Cornell University

6  MEETINGS, COURSES AND WORKSHOPS

7  EDITOR'S NOTES

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1.  NEWS, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RESEARCH NOTES

1.01  Research 'must be expanded' to address food prices

[BEIJING] International agricultural research must be accelerated to find solutions for the world's poor amid rising food prices, say food research experts.

Joachim von Braun, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), made the call today (4 December) at the launch of IFPRI's biannual report in Beijing, China.

According to von Braun, the world's average food price has risen by 53 per cent since 2000, due to increased income for farmers and changes in the types of crops planted.

Developing biofuels worldwide to address climate change has been a dominant factor in driving up food prices, as less agricultural land is devoted to food, von Braun said.

The IFPRI report, 'The World Food Situation: New Driving Forces and Required Actions', also says that world agricultural output is projected to decrease significantly due to climate change, and that the impact on developing countries will be severe.

Von Braun recommended that rich nations invest more in research into the impact of biofuels and the threat posed by climate change.

He said he hopes that next-generation technologies can be created to produce biofuels with waste biomass ­ such as straw stalks ­ but warned that the first priority was to slow down biofuel development.

Von Braun also said that some of the political lobby groups that have been created to campaign for more subsidies for farmers who plant biofuel are "anti-poor".

In a scenario where countries follow through with their biofuels plans, the price of maize could increase by 26 per cent, according to the report. This could increase to 72 per cent if biofuels usage is expanded greatly.

Cereal prices could further increase by 10 to 20 percent by 2015 due to supply and demand issues, according to the IFPRI report, impacting the majority of the world's poor people, who live in households that are net buyers of food ­ they spend more money buying than selling food.

According to von Braun, poor people in Bangladesh, for example, may have to double their expenditure on food, leaving no money for other necessities.

Metha Wanapat, a professor from Khon Kaen University, Thailand, agrees. "While planting crops for biofuels increases short-term income for farmers, it is important to balance economic need and food demands," he says.

"More research is needed to determine the right proportion of agricultural resources to be used for biofuels," he told SciDev.Net.

Source: SciDev.net
4 December 2007

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1.02  African farmer and world agricultural leader announced as President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

Accra, Ghana
Alongside Kofi A. Annan, A. Namanga Ngongi to lead AGRA’s work to end poverty and hunger of Africa’s small-scale farmers

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) today announced the naming of Dr. A. Namanga Ngongi as its first president. Ngongi is in Accra meeting with Ghanaian government officials, after which he will return to AGRA headquarters in Nairobi.

Ngongi began his career in the fields alongside farmers in his native Cameroon, where he worked as an agricultural officer helping farmers improve yield and diversify and market their crops. His career has spanned involvement in international organisations, and has included serving as Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and leading the peace-keeping mission in war-torn Congo for the United Nations.

“Dr. Ngongi’s leadership will strengthen AGRA’s efforts to help millions of small-scale farmers and their families end poverty,” said Kofi A. Annan, Chairman of the Board of AGRA and former Secretary-General of the United Nations. “Ngongi is a man of vision, dedicated to the eradication of hunger and poverty. He knows the vital importance of agricultural development, and that ambitious goals inspire the energy and will necessary to achieve them.”

AGRA is an African-led and African-inspired partnership of farmers, scientists, governments, the private sector and civil society. AGRA aims to significantly increase the productivity and incomes of millions of small-scale farmers by supporting sustainable, innovative agricultural practices that help poor farmers and their families lift themselves out of poverty and hunger.

AGRA programs focus on issues across the agricultural “value chain”-- from seeds, soil health, and water, to markets, agricultural education and public policy. AGRA programs to date include targeted efforts to develop new varieties of Africa’s orphan food crops that are low-yielding and highly vulnerable to disease; support for agricultural education including sponsoring two new PhD programs in leading African universities; and efforts to develop seed distribution networks and markets for poor farmers. AGRA also advocates for public policies that support small-scale farmers.

“I am proud and eager to serve as president of AGRA,” Ngongi said. “AGRA’s goals are my own. There is no acceptable reason for Africa’s farmers to be poor. Working with their many allies, farmers can move beyond mere subsistence farming. With access to the needed tools and technologies and with responsible stewardship of our natural resources, we can bring prosperity to Africa’s farmers and their families.”

History of Service

Born in Buea, Cameroon, in 1945, Ngongi earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, Calif. He earned masters and doctorate degrees in agronomy from Cornell University, in Ithaca, N.Y. Ngongi went on to earn a postgraduate certificate in agricultural and rural development project planning from the University of Bradford, in the United Kingdom.

Early in his career, Ngongi worked with village farmers for Cameroon’s Ministry of Agriculture. He motivated farmers to grow new crops such as yams and plantains, and worked to help them control plant-damaging pests. Later, collaborating with the Government of Ghana and Cornell University, he headed a joint soils research project aimed at ensuring sustained production of basic food crops across the country’s agro-ecological zones. He supervised the establishment of rural development institutions and agro-industrial enterprises in Cameroon.

Ngongi began his international service with the Cameroon Embassy in Rome, where he played an active role in key committees of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

He joined the WFP in 1984, heading operational activities in 17 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, and addressing the populations’ needs after the devastating droughts in Ethiopia, Sudan and the Sahel.

In 2001, Ngongi became Under-Secretary-General of the UN and head of the organisation’s peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

As special representative of the UN Secretary-General, Ngongi managed a mission comprised of 6,000 troops from seven countries and a civilian staff of over 1,500 from more than 60 countries. He organised several local peace negotiations between warring factions in the midst of fighting, hunger and disease, while working to deliver humanitarian aid. His efforts are credited with contributing significantly to the overall success of the peace negotiations as well as the formation of a transitional government in the DRC.

Ngongi retired from the UN in 2003, and returned to Cameroon. He has since taken up farming on his own farm, while also undertaking several high-level missions for the UN, including a study on food reserve systems in Africa.

“It is not enough to know about the problems of farmers from 26,000 feet in the air,” Ngongi said. “I know about the problems of farmers on the ground, and I know that with the support of AGRA partnerships, we can overcome those problems.”

Ngongi succeeds interim president Dr. Gary Toenniessen, who has presided since AGRA’s founding in September 2006.

About the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
AGRA is a dynamic partnership working across the African continent to help millions of small-scale farmers and their families lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. AGRA programs develop practical solutions to significantly boost farm productivity and incomes for the poor while safeguarding the environment. AGRA advocates for policies that support its work across all key aspects of the African agricultural “value chain”­from seeds, soil health, and water to markets and agricultural education.

AGRA’s Board is chaired by Kofi A. Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations. With initial support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, AGRA maintains offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Accra, Ghana. For more information, go to www.agra-alliance.org .

Source: SeedQuest.com
14 November 2007

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1.03  African Development Bank rice project sows success in West Africa

Cotonou, Benin
West Africa is one of the poorest regions of the world. Yet, thanks to a groundbreaking project, rice farmers in this region are able to make enough profit from their farms to send their children to school and provide them with better health care.

The project worth about USD 35 million is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB). It supports the dissemination of the New Rice for Africa (NERICA®) varieties in seven West African countries – Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.

“We are now able to send nearly all our children to school,” says Oumar Bojang, Secretary of the farmers’ association Yirima Kafo in Jambur, The Gambia. Yirima Kafo’s membership includes180 women and 20 men farmers, who are growing NERICA with the help of the AfDB project. Oumar said that the association made a profit of about USD 4000 in 2006. The association has also been able to open a bank account.

Some of the progressive farmers who have benefited from the project reported spectacular successes. Bakary Togola, a Malian farmer was able to get a profit of USD 124,000 from the sale of NERICA seed in 2006. Scenting success, Bakary increased his NERICA area from 4 ha in 2004 to 60 ha in 2006. In 2007, he extended it further to 80 ha.

Suleyman Mboob from The Gambia reported that he grew NERICA on 25 ha in 2006 and got about USD 26,300 from the sale of seed, while Alhaji Dembur Jatta, his compatriot, made about USD 1600. Both of them distributed surplus NERICA seed freely to their friends and family members.

In Benin – another pilot country for this project – an impact study carried out by the Africa Rice Center (WARDA) and its partners covering 24 villages has shown the positive impacts of NERICA adoption on farmers’ livelihoods. Better harvests with more yield put extra cash in NERICA farmers’ pockets to support schooling, medical care and better diet.

The study showed that with the increase in farmers’ income, the school attendance rate rose by 6% and farming families were able to spend USD 20 more for school expenses per child and USD 12 more for health care expenses per sick child.

Such impacts, although modest, make a difference in the lives of the poor who represent about 80% of the targeted beneficiaries of the AfDB project. The project has developed NERICA-based products which add value to rice and can provide sustainable market opportunities for rural women.

The project aims to involve about 33,000 farm families in participatory approaches to accelerate NERICA dissemination. Many promising new varieties – including new NERICA varieties – have been selected by farmers using these participatory approaches. For example, in Guinea, which has about 83,000 ha under NERICA, about 940 farming households took active part in the selection of improved rice varieties in 2006.

By the fifth year of the AfDB project, about 400 000 ha of land is expected to be under NERICA cultivation in the pilot countries and the annual rice import bill of these countries is expected to reduce by about USD 100 million. The project was launched in 2005 but began its operations only from 2006.

It is coordinated by the African Rice Initiative (ARI), which is hosted by the Africa Rice Center (WARDA) and supported by several partners and donors, including AfDB, Rockefeller Foundation, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

AfDB NERICA Project Highlights

Overcoming seed shortage
Since seed shortage is the biggest bottleneck in the NERICA dissemination, the project mounted a major effort on the production and diffusion of quality seed of NERICA.

The African Rice Initiative Regional Coordination Unit produced nearly 200 t of foundation and breeder seed and has facilitated the production of over 4000 t of foundation and certified seed in the project pilot countries between 2005 and 2007.

But it is difficult to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for NERICA seed. For example, in 2007, in response to Nigeria’s request, the Regional Coordination Unit provided that country with 100 t of NERICA foundation seed.
“The African Rice Initiative is exploring with relevant partners, particularly the national systems, how best to put in place sustainable NERICA seed production and delivery strategies,” says Inoussa Akintayo, African Rice Initiative Regional Coordinator.

Building capacity of extension staff and farmers
Building the capacity of all the actors in the rice sector is integral to the project. Apart from the Africa Rice Center, JICA and Sasakawa-Global 2000 are two key partners of the Initiative in capacity building.

As part of a “training of trainers” strategy, the Project has trained about 85 technicians in seed production and participatory approaches and more than 3600 farmers in improved seed production techniques. The project has also contributed to the training of more than 20 impact assessment specialists.

Two JICA rice specialists who are working with the Initiative have been particularly involved in group training programs on important aspects of rice cultivation – ranging from quality seed production to agronomic packages.
In addition to these efforts, country-specific capacity building programs are undertaken by each pilot country. For instance, in Nigeria, in 2006, about 850 extension agents were trained in various aspects of rice production and more than 700 farmers in seed production. The AfDB NERICA project in Nigeria is playing an important role in Nigeria’s Presidential Rice Initiative, in which NERICA is a major component.

In Mali, four training modules on rice production, farmers’ organization, cooperative management and seed quality have been developed by the National Coordination Unit. About 165 NERICA seed producers were mobilized in Ghana in 2006 thanks to intensive farmer-training activities.

Capacity building and rice restoration activities are particularly valuable in post-conflict areas of Sierra Leone, where rice is a staple food.

Developing complementary technologies
To increase the productivity of the NERICA varieties, complementary technologies, such as agronomic packages, are currently evaluated in all pilot countries in collaboration with Africa Rice Center scientists and other resource persons.

The Regional Coordination Unit is helping to document relevant information in the NERICA Compendium that is shortly going to be published jointly with FAO and Sasakawa Africa Association.

Involving the private sector and NGOs
The project operates through partnerships and the NERICA stakeholders’ platforms established in each pilot country. Dr Akintayo highlighted the case of Benin, where the AfDB project has set off a historic process – the successful involvement of the private sector in NERICA seed production – led by Benin industrialist Mr Babatundé Olufindji, who was recently honored by FAO for his active role.

The Regional Bank of Solidarity (BRS) has given over USD 80,000 credit to farmers’ organizations to produce NERICA seed in Benin. In 2007, another company BSS-SIPRI-Sarl launched an ambitious NERICA project in Benin in collaboration with the Satake Corporation. Songhaï (an NGO based in Benin) is using its own innovative strategy to produce and commercialize NERICA in Benin and neighboring countries.
Such wide-ranging partnerships have also been developed in other pilot countries. “The linking up with the private sector is one of the project’s biggest successes,” Dr Akintayo commented. “But we still have a long way to go.”

Source the Africa Rice Center (WARDA) via SeedQuest.com
November 22, 2007

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1.04  New public-private hybrid rice group aims to raise rice yields in the tropics

Manila, The Philippines
Successful deployment of hybrid rice in Asia requires more effective cooperation between public research institutions and the private sector

A new international research initiative, linking the private and public sectors for the first time and launched on November 9 at the 2007 Asian Seed Congress, aims to boost the research and development of hybrid rice for the tropics.

The Hybrid Rice Research and Development Consortium (HRDC), established by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), will strengthen public–private sector partnership in hybrid rice, a technology that can raise the yield of rice and thus overall rice productivity and profitability in Asia.

Hybrid rice takes advantage of the phenomenon of hybrid vigor­known as heterosis­to achieve yields 15–20% higher than nonhybrid (inbred) varieties. Over the past three decades, the technology has helped China achieve food security, but has not yet reached its potential in the tropics.

IRRI and its partners in the public and private sector have led research on development of, and use of, hybrid rice technology in the tropics for almost 30 years. Successful deployment of hybrid rice in Asia, however, requires more effective cooperation between public research institutions and the private sector in research to overcome current constraints.

The HRDC will be hosted by IRRI and will have three major objectives:
-Support research on developing new hybrids with enhanced yield heterosis, improved seed production, multiple resistances to stresses, and grain quality.
-Support research on best management practices for rice hybrids.
-Improve information sharing, public awareness, and capacity building.

Public and private sector organizations and companies with interest in hybrid rice development are invited to become members of the HRDC. For private-sector members, annual financial contributions under the consortium structure will take into account the status of seed companies at different stages of development. HRDC members will have access to improved parents, hybrids, and breeding lines, including seeds and associated information.

The HRDC will have a public–private sector advisory committee and will meet annually to provide information to its members on new plant genetic resources available or under development, review research on hybrid rice management, discuss new research priorities, and make decisions on other consortium activities such as capacity building for both the public and private sectors.

According to IRRI senior hybrid rice researcher Fangming Xie, the HRDC will significantly enhance the capacity for hybrid rice research and product delivery, while providing services and support to the private sector in its product development and delivery that will benefit the general public.

“National agricultural research and extension systems and other public sector organizations engaged in hybrid rice research and development will be among the primary beneficiaries of funds generated by the HRDC”, said Dr. Xie. “Rice farmers in Asia will benefit from accelerated access to hybrid rice-based technologies such as more and better hybrids, good-quality seed, knowledge, and services provided by the private and public sectors.”

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world’s leading rice research and training center. Based in the Philippines, with offices in 13 other countries, IRRI is an autonomous, nonprofit institution focused on improving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes, while preserving natural resources. IRRI is one of 15 centers funded through the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an association of public and private donor agencies.

Source: SeedQuest.com
9 November 2007

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1.05  West Africa Biosciences Network to improve sorghum breeding in West Africa

The West Africa Biosciences Network (WABNet), one of the NEPAD Biosciences initiatives in Africa, has put in place plans to improve sorghum breeding in West Africa in particular and Africa in general. At a recent workshop held in Dakar, Senegal, an implementation plan was drawn and resources were allocated to various laboratories to work on the inventory and characterization of West Africa sorghum genetic resources. This will be funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) as part of its funding for the Africa Biosciences Initiatives.

The project has the support of the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology (AMCOST) currently chaired by Kenya’s Science and Technology Minister Noah Wekesa. Senegalese Minister for Scientific Research Yaye Gassama Dia urged the experts to ensure that all stakeholders such as community- based organizations, processors, policy makers and the media were involved in finding solutions to the breeding and utilization problems facing sorghum, which she described as an important food security crop in the sub-region. WABNet Director, Prof Diran Makinde, said that West Africa was sorghum's center of origin hence the need to ensure that it was conserved and improved using the best available science. The experts also formed a Sorghum Breeders’ Forum whose first tasks are to compile a database of sorghum breeders and help in knowledge-sharing.

For more information contact Prof Diran Makinde or Daniel Otunge of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) AfriCenter.

Source:CropBiotech Update via SeedQuest.com
30 November 2007

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1.06  Hybrid Rice Research and Development Consortium (HRDC)

IRRI and its partners in the public and private sector have led  research on, development of, and use of hybrid rice technology in the tropics for almost 30 years. Hybrid rice technology has the potential to raise the yield of rice and thus overall rice productivity and profitability in Asia. Successful deployment of hybrid rice in Asia, however, requires more effective cooperation between public research institutions and the private sector in research to overcome current constraints. Therefore, IRRI is pleased to announce the establishment of an international Hybrid Rice Research and Development Consortium (HRDC) to strengthen public–private sector partnership in hybrid rice.

The HRDC will be hosted by IRRI and will have three major objectives:
- Support research on developing new hybrids with enhanced yield heterosis, improved seed production, multiple resistance to stresses, and increased grain quality.
- Support research on best management practices for rice hybrids.
- Improve information sharing, public awareness, and capacity building.

Public and private sector organizations and companies with interest in hybrid rice development are invited to become members of the HRDC. For private sector members, annual financial contributions under the consortium structure will take into account the status of seed companies at different stages of development. HRDC members will have differentiated access to four classes of improved parents, hybrids, and breeding lines, including seeds and associated information. The HRDC will have a public–private sector advisory committee and will meet annually to provide information to its members on new plant genetic resources available or under development, review research on hybrid rice management, discuss new research priorities, and make decisions on other consortium activities such as capacity building for both the public and private sector.

The HRDC will significantly enhance the capacity for hybrid rice research and product delivery, while providing services and support to the private sector in its product development and delivery that will benefit the general public. National agricultural research and extension systems and other public sector organizations engaged in hybrid rice research and development will be among the primary beneficiaries of funds generated by the HRDC. Rice farmers in Asia will benefit from accelerated access to hybrid rice–based technologies such as more and better hybrids, good-quality seed, knowledge, and services provided by the private and public sector.

Contact for further information and obtaining detailed guidelines:
Dr. Fangming Xie
Senior Scientist, Hybrid Rice Breeding Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
E-mail: f.xie@cgiar.org

Contributed by  Fangming Xie \(IRRI\)" F.XIE@CGIAR.ORG

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1.07  Project to develop more nutritious sorghum announces scientific breakthrough

Nairobi, Kenya
The nine-member consortium of the Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) Project today announced that its second generation of transgenic sorghum seeds - known as ABS#2 - had exhibited significantly increased levels of nutritional improvements over previous generations.

The project is seeking to develop a more nutritious and easily digestible sorghum that contains increased levels of essential amino acids, especially lysine, increased levels of Vitamins A and E, and more available iron and zinc.

Dr. Paul Anderson, the Project’s Principal Investigator, said the breakthrough in the second generation seeds follows positive developments in its biotechnology research. “A lot of sorghum transformation work has been carried out since the project started. Genes for three of the four intended nutrition improvement traits - protein quality, protein digestibility, and mineral availability - were transferred to sorghum, and they all seem to work as expected. This is great success within a very short period of time.”

“The increase in targeted nutrients shows that the ambitious goals of the initial project are technologically feasible. This lays the foundation for the next challenge, which is to incorporate these technology breakthroughs in nutritionally-improved varieties for African farmers and consumers by careful field evaluation and the use of modern breeding methods,” Dr. Anderson said.

This second generation seeds are the result of work jointly carried out by African scientists from South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Kenya Agricultural Institute (KARI) and US scientists from DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred.

The project also announced that it has received a field permit for field evaluation of this second generation seeds; this will commence in the US in January 2008. The consortium said it would also seek permits for contained evaluation of these seeds in African countries that had indicated interest in this project.

The project is supported by the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the US Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, the Welcome Trust and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

With the goal of improving nutrition to promote health, the ABS project focuses on improving the nutrition of sorghum. The Project brings together seven African and two US organizations. The nine-member consortium is led by Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International.

More news from the Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) Project

Source: SeedQuest.com
11 December 2007

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1.08  Iran can serve the world in wheat breeding

El Batán, Mexico
CIMMYT's new liaison officer in Iran plans to bring advanced science for wheat, the country’s chief food staple, and to help channel benefits of Iran’s wheat research capacity to neighboring nations.
http://www.cimmyt.org/english/wps/news/2007/nov/iran.htm

Source: CIMMYT e-newsletter vol 4 no 11 via SeedQuest.com
November 30, 2007

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1.09  China's new high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat boosting domestic production as world prices soar

Chinese scientists responsible for developing innovative wheat varieties recognized with international award for 'Outstanding Agricultural Technology'

BEIJING (3 December 2007)--An intensive domestic research effort to bolster China’s wheat production has over the last four years produced new high-quality, high-yielding varieties that already have added 2.4 million tons to Chinese harvests and generated an extra US$411 million in farm income. The new varieties also offer natural resistance to a new strain of wheat stem rust now emerging as a threat to global food security, according to a new assessment from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS).

In recognition of their contribution to Chinese grain production and international crop science, the Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) announced today that its 2007 Regional Award for Outstanding Agricultural Technology in the Asia-Pacific Region will go to a Chinese wheat improvement team. The team comprises scientists from CAAS and the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Science (SAAS). The award was presented here at the CGIAR Annual General Meeting.

The success of Chinese plant breeders in boosting the size and sustainability of domestic wheat production is well timed, as soaring wheat prices in global markets are making grain imports particularly costly. In addition, the recent discovery that one of the new varieties has natural resistance to a rapidly spreading and potentially devastating form of wheat stem rust could be critical to sustaining wheat production worldwide.

“Now that these new wheat varieties have been sown on more than 8 million hectares, we can see how important they are likely to become to China’s wheat production capacity,” said He Zhonghu of CAAS. “They are particularly important in the area of disease resistance. It is not just the farmers who are benefiting. These new varieties are yielding a high-quality grain that food manufacturers say is producing superior wheat noodles and pan bread for Chinese consumers.”

“These new wheat varieties developed by China’s wheat improvement team possess what every crop scientist seeks but only rarely achieves,” said Ren Wang, director of the CGIAR. “In addition to offering bigger harvests and higher quality wheat, the recent finding that they are endowed with natural resistance to the strain of stem rust we’re seeing spread throughout East Africa is just more evidence of their outstanding quality.”

From 2002 to 2006, a team of scientists from CAAS and SAAS developed three improved wheat varieties for Chinese farmers that are five to seven percent more productive than previous varieties. In addition, their superior quality for bread and noodle production has made them particularly popular among Chinese milling and food manufacturers and allowed Chinese farmers to earn an additional US $101 million in “quality” premiums.

Scientists also recently discovered that one of the varieties, known as Jimai 20, is the only Chinese wheat cultivar­and one of the few in the world­to show high resistance to a new and virulent strain of destructive wheat stem rust that originated in East Africa and has now spread to the Arabian peninsula. International wheat experts have been alarmed that most of the world’s wheat varieties appear susceptible to the disease, which can reduce harvests by as much 70 percent.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the disease could end up posing a threat to global food security. Wind models show it has the potential to spread to farms throughout the Middle East and South Asia, which collectively account for 25 percent of the global wheat harvest.
###
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), established in 1971, is a strategic partnership of countries, international and regional organizations and private foundations supporting the work of 15 international agricultural research Centers. In collaboration with national agricultural research systems, civil society and the private sector, the CGIAR fosters sustainable agricultural growth through high-quality science aimed at benefiting the poor through stronger food security, better human nutrition and health, higher incomes and improved management of natural resources. www.cgiar.org.

Contact: Jeff Haskins
jhaskins@burnesscommunications.com
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

Source: EurekAlert.com
3 December 2007

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1.10  China and Mexico team up to fight wheat disease

[MEXICO CITY] Two agricultural research organisations have agreed to collaborate on research to combat wheat diseases and develop climate change-resistant wheat varieties.

The agreement, between the Mexico-based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, was signed last week (4 December).

Jointly funded by the two centres, the US$3 million, three-year project comprises a shared breeding initiative to create new wheat varieties that tolerate heat and drought ­ helping farmers face climate change ­ and resist major wheat diseases.

Research will be carried out at both centres, as well as other sites around the world.

The project will involve screening several thousand wheat samples, provided by both centres, for useful traits ­ particularly against a new strain of stem wheat rust, Ug99. Stem rust is caused by a parasitic fungus and devastates crops.

Traditional plant breeding techniques will be used to create suitable varieties. Molecular markers ­ specific DNA segments containing genes associated with desired characteristics ­ will be used to trace characteristics through generations.

"Of particular concern is the new, virulent strain of stem rust, Ug99, which appeared in eastern Africa eight years ago but has since moved on to the Middle East and could soon threaten the vast wheat lands of Asia," said Masa Iwanaga, director-general of CIMMYT, in a press release.

"Both parties see an urgent need to screen thousands of wheat lines to identify ones that resist the new rust race."

Researchers hope to have a wheat variety resistant to Ug99 by the end of the project, according to Mike Listman, from the communications department at CIMMYT.

"The project is the continuation of collaboration activities that already exist between both institutions," he told SciDev.Net.

Partnerships between China and CIMMYT go back three decades. More than 200

Chinese scientists have taken part in training and joint research with CIMMYT.

Around four million hectares in China are sown with wheat varieties derived from CIMMYT plants, and Chinese breeding stocks and partnerships have improved the disease resistance of CIMMYT-derived varieties grown around the world.
Arturo Barba

Source: SciDev.net
13 December 2007

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1.11  Building disease-beating wheat

Disease resistance genes from three different grass species have been combined in the world’s first ‘trigenomic’ chromosome, which can now be used to breed disease resistant wheat varieties

Pioneered by CSIRO researchers, in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and Sydney University, the research illustrates the major genetic improvements possible without genetic modification (GM) technology.

“Wheat breeders often use wild relatives of wheat as sources of novel genes in breeding new disease-resistant wheats,” research team leader Dr Phil Larkin says.

“The exciting part of the new research is that we have been able to retain the useful genes but leave behind the associated undesirable genes - most notably in this case those for yellow flour colour, an important quality characteristic in wheat,” Dr Larkin says.

“Unfortunately genes from wild relatives usually come in large blocks of hundreds of genes, and often include undesirable genes. Furthermore, these blocks of genes tend to stay together, even after many generations of breeding.

“The problem can be so difficult to overcome that plant breeders sometimes give up on very valuable genes because they cannot separate them from the problematic genes.”

A paper published this month in the respected international journal Theoretical and Applied Genetics details how the team ‘recombined’ two wild blocks of genes from two different Thinopyrum grass species – a wild relative of wheat – bringing together resistance genes for leaf rust and Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV), two of the world’s most damaging wheat diseases. The recombined gene ‘package’ may also carry a resistance gene against a new stem rust strain which is causing concern worldwide.

“The exciting part of the new research is that we have been able to retain the useful genes but leave behind the associated undesirable genes - most notably in this case those for yellow flour colour, an important quality characteristic in wheat,” Dr Larkin says.

By developing new ‘DNA markers’ and by careful testing the team has produced a number of the disease resistance ‘packages’ for wheat breeders, making it faster and easier to include these important disease resistance traits in future wheat varieties.

It is hoped other examples will follow and the genetic diversity available in wild species can be recruited more extensively for wheat improvement.

Source: EurekAlert.com
12 December 2007

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1.12  Cassava hybrids to improve livelihood in Federal District and state of Goias, Brazil

A project excecuted by University of Brasilia with collaboration of Brazilian National Fund of environment

Background
Productivity of cassava in the federal district varies from 10 to 12 ton/hectare while the hybrids developed by the university of Brasilia produce up to 40 ton/hectare. In the meantime, cultivated varieties are poor in protein and carotinoids while those selected by the university have up to 8 mgm per kg B carotene and lycopene. The hybrid developed by the university has 4.5 percent true protein and rich in amino acids methionine, lysine which are absent in common cassava. A new technique developed by the university equip showed that If a stalk of certain wild species such as M. glaziovii grafted to a cutting of cassava , it may stimulate root production up to 7 fold.

Objective of this project is to distribute these improves cultivars to small farmers and settled refugees to enable them improve their income and guarantee for them food source all over the year. Wild species used in the grafted will be perpetuated and conserved by the farmers through practicing of grafted cassava in their properties. There is is also a result on the long run, which is by bringing the hybrids and the cultivate closely together, natural interspecific hybridization may occur and bring new productive cultivars by Both natural selection and farmers selection .

Method, technique and follow up
- cuttings of improved cultivars have been distributed. Seedlings too to guarantee
- success of plantation in case of rainfall shortage
- The project is arranging training for participant farmers on grafting wild cassava onto the cultivated
- The project team accompanies every farmer through regular visits, orienting them on different aspects of plants treatments.
- An exposition of productivity will be made by the end of the first year where neighbors of every participant are invited to see the result.

http://www.geneconserve.pro.br/cassava_df_go.pdf

Contributed by Leonardo Valentini Gorgen
Labratorio da Mandioca- UnB, Brasilia, Brazil
mandioca@unb.br

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1.13  Translational Seed Biology Symposium: meeting report

The Department of Plant Sciences and the Seed Biotechnology Center at UC Davis recently hosted a major international symposium on Translational Seed Biology: From Model Systems to Crop Improvement. Over 275 scientists and students from academic institutions and seed companies from around the world participated in three days of meetings and discussions on the latest advances in seed biology and how these are being translated into improved products for agriculture and nutrition. New approaches to increase seed size and number and therefore increase crop yields were described. Enhancements of seed nutritional content by modification of seed protein, carbohydrate, oil, vitamin and micronutrient composition are in the research and development pipeline. Ways to improve seed longevity were described that will enable better storage of plant genetic resources. Recent research on the regulation of seed germination and dormancy will lead to better seed quality for planting and new strategies for weed management. New techniques can reduce costs and increase the reliability of production of seeds for planting. The first of an annual series of Plant Sciences Symposia sponsored in part by the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the symposium also received financial support from the National Science Foundation, the USDA National Research Initiative, the UC Discovery Program, the International Society for Seed Science and a number of corporate sponsors. The symposium was also supported by members of CSREES Regional Research Project W-1168 representing a number of land grant institutions in the U.S. Abstracts of 30 invited presentations and 65 posters displayed at the symposium can be viewed at www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/seedsymposium2007.

Contributed by Catherine Glaeser
clglaeser@ucdavis.edu

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1.14  10^th International Plant Virus Epidemiology Symposium held in India: meeting report

The 10^th International Plant Virus Epidemiology (IPVE) Symposium themed ‘Controlling Epidemics of Emerging and Established Plant Virus Diseases - The Way Forward’ was held from 15-19 October 2007 at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, India. The symposium, first ever of the series to be held in Asia, was attended by 217 scientists and students from 27 countries, contributing to a total 58 oral presentation and 118 poster presentations. A PDF version of the abstract book may be obtained by sending an e-mail to: L.kumar@cgiar.org

The symposium was held under eight separate technical sessions: epidemiology and evolution, emerging viruses, viruses of cereal crops and soil-borne viruses, biosecurity and modeling, virus-vector evolution, advances in virus disease management, characterization and diagnosis of viruses and vectors, and molecular epidemiology & ecology. Presentations and discussions held under these sessions during the four days focused on the causes for the emergence of several unknown viruses and resurgence of several established viruses, advances in plant virus epidemiology and disease management, well reflecting the theme of the Symposium. A new IPVE Executive Committee was formed, which consists of nine members, R. A. C. Jones (Australia), P. Lava Kumar (Africa), A. Fererers, H. Lecoq and T. Kuhne (Europe), R. K. Khetarpal and S. Kumari (Asia), S. Grey (North America) and I. Barker (South America), representing the five continents, with A. Fereres as the Chair. The next symposium of the IPVE will be held in USA in 2010.

Contributed by P. Lava Kumar
(L.kumar@cgiar.org)

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1.15  A brief report on The 8^th African Crop Science Society 2007 Conference

Crop research, technology dissemination and adoption to increase food supply, reducing hunger and poverty in Africa

Held at Suzan Mubarak Center for Arts and Letters, Minia University, El Minia, Egypt, October 27-31, 2007

The African Crop Science Society (ACSS) was established in 1993 with the overall goal of improving agricultural production and food security in the continent of Africa. The society meets once every two years and has done so in 1993 in Kampala, Uganda; 1995 in Blantyre, Malawi; 1997 in Pretoria, South Africa; 1999 in Casablanca, Morocco; 2001 in Lagos, Nigeria; 2003 in Nairobi, Kenya and 2005 in Entebbe, Uganda. ACSS conferences are truly international and attract a lot of participation ranging from 400 to 600 participants. We are pleased where, for first time in ACSS history, Egypt hosted the African Crop Science Society Conference, at 27- 31 October 2007, in El-Minia, Egypt. The Conference theme was “Crop research, technology dissemination and adoption to increase food supply, reducing hunger and poverty in Africa.”

The conference brought together over 450 delegates from all over the world and provided a great opportunity for people involved in crop improvement and rural development to interact and share experiences in efforts to improve the food security to face poverty and hunger in Africa. Participants included scientists, institutional managers, change agents, policy makers, private sectors, and development partners. Research and review reports on virtually all aspects of crop genetics, productions, protections, post harvest handling, processing and marketing, dissemination of technologies and information and policy issues has been presented. Technological and socio-economic issues that impact agricultural production to marketing continuum are also discussed subsequently. Such reports and publications appeared in the conference proceedings, which distributed, to all delegates and will be sent to leading libraries in African countries.

More than 400 of high quality papers, 10 plenary, as well as, 5 keynote lectures, in different fields, presented orally or in poster format in the conference. A chance for discussion was given after each presentation to maximize benefits from the scientific and technical ideas that were dealt within the sessions. Basically, we received more than 700 abstracts presented to the Local Organizing Committee (LOC). 600 were accepted. 500 full text research papers were refereed. In addition to 420 research papers that were approved by the referees as "eligible to be published" which constituted the bulk of the four parts of the proceedings (African Crop Science proceedings, October 2007, volume 8). The first three parts were printed, distributed through conference activity and the fourth part is soon-to-be issued by the end of 2007. In addition, an electronic copy on Compact Disk, as well as, an Abstract Book (programme, abstracts of papers and List of participants according to nationality) is available.

This conference comprises a plethora of pivots: 15 scientific fields; 220 oral presentations; 180 posters; not to mention our 10 plenary and 5 keynote addresses. The general topics covered at the conference include: agronomy, horticulture, crop improvement and physiology, crop genetics and biotechnology, post harvest handling and food sciences, crop protection, rural socio-economics and agricultural extension and education, agricultural economics, agricultural microbiology, agricultural chemistry, integration of livestock in crop production, soils and agricultural engineering sciences, water sciences, environmental sciences, biodiversity and natural resources management.

Fifty nationalities from the 6 continents participated in the conference, and the total number is about 450 participants who constitute a distinguished dignitary of scientists from Africa and all over the world. Devoted, and dedicated through their researches to fight hunger, poverty and malnutrition in our African continent, the scientists and researchers are moving by leaps and bounds to increase food productivity in order to spare our continent from the specter of famine that has long been residing in our continent.

Apart from the huge scientific program, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) has prepared an entertaining program, which varies, according to the participants' conveniences, between, exhibitions, field trips, Gala dinner, Minia city tour, Nile Cruise and other Excursion Programs and to get close to Egyptian traditions and history. And of course, no one cannot leave Egypt, the cradle of civilization, without visiting the last wonder of the Old Seven Wonders of the world: the Pyramids.

A word of thanks of the Local Organizing Committee is due to all who exerted efforts to make this conference happen. Without their support and dedication, this conference would have never been happened. We are truly indebted to the African Crop Science Society, the Conference Organizing Committee, the Faculty of Agriculture, Minia University, El-Minia Governorate, the Arab Republic of Egypt Government, Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO, UN), The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS, Italy), and International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA, Syria).

For more information, kindly visit conference website at hppt://www.acss2007.org moreover you can contact via E-mail: orgcom@acss2007.org

Contributed byProf Kasem Zaki Ahmed
President, ACSS, & Chairperson, Local Organizing Committee.,
orgcom@acss2007.org
Website:http://www.acss2007.org

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1.16  NIAB scientists visit China to learn about their plant breeding and genetic resources

Prof Wayne Powell, Chief Executive of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany, is making a fact-finding visit to China this week to learn more about the country’s plant breeding and genetic resources, and to raise NIAB’s international profile.

Prof Powell will attend three major events, two of which he will speak at. His first stop is in Beijing on 8 and 9 December where he will attend a meeting of the Generation Challenge Programme, an international research network which uses genetic resources to develop tools and technologies that enable plant breeders in the developing world to produce better crop varieties for resource-poor farmers.

Prof Powell chairs the Generation Challenge Programme’s Advisory Committee and regards this meeting as a vital collaborative opportunity to discuss advancing agriculture indeveloping countries.

Also in Beijing, Prof Powell will speak about genetic diversity at the China/UK Wheat Workshop on 10 and 11 December.  Three senior scientists from NIAB will also attend this event. They are Site Director, Dr Tina Barsby; head of Plant Genetics, Breeding and Evaluation, Prof Andy Greenland; and Statistical Geneticist, Dr Ian Mackay.

Prof Powell will then travel to the China-EU Science Technology Year 2007 at Wuhan where on 13 December, he will give a talk entitled: “Crop Science Research in the 21^st Century”.  This international organisation promotes deepening of partnerships as a way to foster more enduring exchanges of ideas, people and resources, which is particularly crucial now as China and the EU aim to open their research programmes for greater collaboration, leading to an improvement of mutual understanding.

Prof Powell said: “This visit strengthens NIAB’s representation in China, as well as UK-China links. The fact that three of our senior scientists are also visiting reflects the growing importance of NIAB’s international presence and collaboration with major players.

“China holds very unique genetic resources and we are anxious to know how we can combine modern genome science with novel genetic resources.”

With the world production of wheat at a 10 year low, Prof Powell believes their innovative research into wheat is of great significance and will be of considerable global interest in China.

He added: “China has an intensive domestic research effort on wheat breeding and have produced new varieties of wheat with resistance to stem rust.  The visit will catalyse new opportunities for collaboration between the UK and China.”

Further information about the events can be found at Generation Challenge: http://www.generationcp.org/index.php and China-EU Science & Technology Year 2007: http://ec.europa.eu/research/iscp/eu-china/index_en.html

Contributed by Ellee Seymour
ellee.seymour@btopenworld.com
4 December 2007

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1.17  Crop research 'must switch to climate adaptation'

Crops must be made more resilient to drought
[HYDERABAD] Climate-change and crop experts have called for a paradigm shift in agricultural research to focus on making plants more resilient to global warming rather than on increasing yields.

Martin Parry, co-chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and William Dar, director-general of the International Centre for Research in Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India, said the focus of crop research should be reoriented towards adaptation to environmental stress, such as rising temperatures and water scarcity.

"Adaptation is crucial. Drought-proofing of crops by developing heat-resistant varieties is probably one of the key elements," said Parry at an international symposium on climate change yesterday (22 November).

Dar said changes in climate will alter populations and the geographic spread of pests and pathogens, which also need to be countered with more resistant plant varieties.

Experts from ICRISAT urged governments and international donor agencies to invest more in crop research in view of the adverse projections on agriculture due to global warming. They said focus should shift to crops such as pearl millets and sorghum that grow in arid and semi-arid tropics.

Refocusing research in this way would have implications in training programmes for plant breeders and agricultural education systems, they say.

Production of rice, staple food of billions, most of whom live in poor countries, will be the most affected by global warming, as higher temperatures shift the time of pollination and affect grain formation, said Dyno Keatinge, ICRISAT deputy director-general.

Increased frequency of droughts as a result of global warming will reduce crop production, with most of the people vulnerable to hunger being in Africa, said Parry.

He warned that the world is already starting to witness global warming, with a half-degree Celsius rise in average global temperatures in the past century, and a further 0.6 degree increase expected from the world's present levels of greenhouse-gas emissions.

Colin Chartres, director-general of the International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka, said it is time for climate scientists to scale down global-warming models to be more region-specific, and even river-basin-specific, in order to determine appropriate water-management strategies in agriculture.

Dar said ICRISAT's strategy looks at climate change in two time frames: a short-to-medium-term strategy to help farmers cope better with rainfall variability, and a medium-to-long-term strategy to adapt crops such as pearl millet, sorghum, chickpea, groundnut and pigeon pea to grow in a warmer world.
by T. V. Padma

Source: SciDev.net
23 November 2007

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1.18  New drought-tolerant plants offer hope for warming world

Davis, California
Genetically engineered crop plants that survive droughts and can grow with 70 percent less irrigation water have been developed by an international team led by researchers at the University of California, Davis. The discovery offers hope for global agriculture that is already grappling with limited and variable water supplies.

Research findings concerning the new drought-tolerant plants will be reported in the Nov. 26 online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In this study, tobacco plants were used as a research model.

The University of California has filed a patent application on this technology. The patent application is pending in the United States and in a number of foreign countries. The patent rights are covered by an exclusive arrangement between the University of California and Arcadia Biosciences, which has completed initial outdoor field trials with the drought-tolerance gene in tobacco.

"This is an exciting development because it opens the door, not only to producing plants that can survive periodic droughts, but also to reducing the amount of irrigation water routinely used to grow some of the world's most important food and fiber crops," said Eduardo Blumwald, a professor and Will W. Lester Endowed Chair in the Department of Plant Sciences.

Blumwald and UC Davis postdoctoral fellow Rosa Rivero collaborated on the work with researchers at RIKEN Plant Science Center in Japan; Biology Department Technion in Haifa, Israel; the University of Nevada, Reno; and Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Drought and global agriculture
Droughts -- prolonged and abnormal shortages of water usually caused by lack of rainfall -- have been a fact of life throughout the ages. But scientists monitoring global climate change warn that warming trends will likely result in more frequent and widespread droughts, with serious implications for agriculture and worldwide food security.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research has reported that the percentage of the Earth's land area impacted by serious drought has more than doubled during the past three decades.

"Because climate change is altering rainfall patterns," Blumwald said, "agriculture must adapt by using strategies that range from changing traditional farming practices to developing genetically modified crops that can better tolerate drought and make more efficient use of irrigation water."

Plants' response to drought
Plants have developed their own biological strategies for coping with water shortages. In dry regions, annual plants avoid seasonal drought conditions by having relatively short life cycles and growing quickly during the wet season.

Furthermore, when water is scarce, plants are able to increase their chances of survival by minimizing water loss through their leaves, increasing root growth while reducing leaf growth, and dropping their older leaves.

Blumwald and colleagues decided to investigate whether it might be possible to enhance the plant's tolerance to drought by delaying the shedding of leaves triggered by water shortage. They conjectured that the loss of leaves was the result of programmed cell death, a process by which the plant triggers certain genes to initiate destruction of certain cells -- in this case, leaf cells.

Genetically introducing drought tolerance in tobacco
The researchers set out to suppress the programmed death of leaf cells and equip the plants to survive severe drought conditions.

Tobacco was chosen as an experimental plant because it is big, fast growing and a good model for many other crop plants. The researchers inserted into the tobacco plants a gene that interrupted the biochemical chain of events that normally leads to the loss of the plant's leaves during drought.

The genetically modified tobacco plants, and the non-modified plants in the experiment's control group, were all grown in a greenhouse under the same optimal conditions for 40 days. Water was then withheld from all of the plants for 15 days, simulating extreme drought conditions.

During the dry period, the non-modified tobacco plants in the control group wilted, lost their green pigment and progressively deteriorated. The genetically modified plants, however, remained green and did not display signs of severe deterioration.

At the end of the 15-day induced drought, all of the plants were re-watered for one week. The plants in the control group all died, but the genetically modified plants recovered and resumed normal growth, with little reduction in seed yield.

"Surprisingly, although the genetically modified tobacco plants went more than two weeks without being watered, they maintained relatively high water content and continued their photosynthetic activity throughout the dry period," said researcher Rosa Rivera.

"In short, with only minimal reduction in yield, these plants survived on just 30 percent of the normal irrigation water -- severe drought conditions that killed all of the plants in the control group," she said.

The research team is hopeful that similar results will be found in crop plants such as tomatoes, rice, wheat, canola and cotton. Upon completion of greenhouse experiments, the researchers plan to carry the research forward into field trials.

Funding for this research was provided by the University of California's Will W. Lester Endowment and Arcadia Biosciences Inc.
Other news from Arcadia Biosciences

Source: SeedQuest.com
27 November 2007

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1.19  Scientists launch $140 million initiative to develop “climate-ready” farming and forestry systems for the world’s poor

Bali, Indonesia
Significant new investments and new knowledge needed in agriculture-related climate change research to tackle climate vulnerability of world’s poor, according to experts

With a raft of studies warning that climate change now poses a major threat to food production in developing countries, the world’s largest alliance of agricultural research centers called on the international community to step up its investment in global climate change research on food crops for poor countries.

At a meeting just concluded this week in Beijing, leaders of the 15 centers of the Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) that span the globe have set forth a policy to seek funding to double its current investment in “climate-ready crops” and better land management. The research agenda will also assess climate change impacts on poor nations’ agriculture and natural resources. Absent commitments like this, the group said farmers in poor nations could face a global disaster of unprecedented proportions.

“We are increasingly alarmed that if we don’t move quickly to give farmers in the developing world the tools they need to deal with climate change, we could see food production in places like sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia collapse before the end of the century,” said Katherine Sierra, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development and the CGIAR Chair. “I urge donors and research centers around the world to join us in investing in solutions to climate change.”

Sierra’s call for ramping up research that would help developing countries adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change was made in Bali, Indonesia where world leaders have gathered for the 13th UN Climate Change Conference.

Recent research efforts, many of them conducted by CGIAR scientists, have made it clear that the widely anticipated increase in extreme weather events­more drought in some areas, more flooding in others, higher temperatures all around­and a likely increase in plant pests and diseases ushered in by these changes, are going to hit poor countries particularly hard.

CGIAR’s research figured prominently in a report earlier this year from the United Nation’s Nobel-prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which concluded that rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns could cause agriculture production to drop by as much as 50 percent in many African countries and by 30 percent in Central and South Asia. For example, the IPCC predicted that unless scientists come up with hardier varieties, wheat production could disappear entirely from Africa by 2080 and maize production could drop precipitously.

The CGIAR global network contributes the lion’s share of the world’s research on critical crops such as rice, wheat and maize, in addition to challenges related to forestry, agroforestry, livestock, fish production, biodiversity, water management, and growing conditions in arid, semi-arid and tropical countries.

“We plan to take advantage of the strong cadre of experts at our research centers who are poised to rapidly intensify research efforts that already are coming up with many practical solutions--like drought-tolerant wheat, flood-tolerant rice and new approaches to crop and soil management,” said Sierra. “These research advances will allow global food production to keep pace with population growth.

“This is an auspicious moment in the history of agriculture research because farmers already are under considerable pressure to increase production just to meet the food demands of a growing population,” continued Sierra. “If there ever was a time for scientists to step up and innovate, it is now.”

Throughout 2008, the CGIAR will work with scientists and other partners to highlight new areas of research and share new knowledge from the scientific research community. In particular, the CGIAR is looking forward to working closely with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other partners on a conference on food security, climate change, and the challenges of bio-energy, which is scheduled for early June in Rome.

Climate Change Agenda

CGIAR is rising to the challenge by crafting a climate change agenda rooted in its decades of scientific investigations and international partnerships, all of them focused on pursuing cutting edge agriculture research and translating it into applications that help poor farmers achieve sustainable livelihoods in challenging conditions.

CGIAR’s climate change work is focused on practical endeavors like breeding crops for stress tolerance; developing better practices for crop and natural resource management; helping farmers choose and breed livestock suitable for particular climate conditions; assessing how climate change will affect specific regions, production systems, and the wild plant and animal relatives of domesticated varieties; and providing decision-makers with a wealth of objective assessments so that they can implement policies specifically designed to help farmers deal with climate change.

For example, to maintain production in the face of increasingly harsh conditions, CGIAR scientists have conducted extensive research into the molecular biology of particular plant traits, particularly those related to fitness. It is now linking this work with large-scale conventional plant breeding programs to develop more resilient varieties of major staple crops­principally maize, rice and wheat.

Today, CGIAR scientists are collaborating with partners in sub-Saharan Africa to test new varieties of drought-tolerant maize that can help farmers avoid the 20 million tons of maize lost each year to excessively dry conditions. In Southeast Asia, CGIAR researchers have identified a naturally occurring rice gene that could help farmers avoid the $1 billion in annual losses caused by flooding, a problem that is likely to get worse in the wake of global warming. The trait, which breeders have transferred to a popular rice variety in Bangladesh, allows rice plants to stay submerged for up to two weeks without dying.

CGIAR scientists, who have at their disposal a wealth of genetic resources from the 11 CGIAR-support crop gene banks, want to build on these successes by identifying genetic mechanisms that account for the inherent stress tolerance of naturally hardy food crops like barley, cassava, pearl millet, and sorghum.

“To be effective, stress-tolerant varieties must be developed hand-in-hand with improved crop management systems,” said Sierra. “We plan to greatly expand ongoing research focused on specific practices that can allow farmers to deal with problems related to poor soil quality and water scarcity that are likely to exacerbated by climate change.”

For example, CGIAR centers and their partners have worked with farmers to adapt trees that naturally fertilize depleted soils and develop water technologies that can help both irrigated and rain fed systems withstand climate-changed induced pressure on water resources.

In addition to helping developing countries survive the affects of climate change, CGIAR research will seek to find ways to get farmers in poor countries more involved in the worldwide effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For example, CGIAR research is producing more accurate assessments of greenhouses gases produced by deforestation and developing new technologies for measuring carbon captured in the trees and soils of relatively small land-holdings. These efforts are focused on helping farmers in poor countries participate in a global carbon trading market that is now valued at more than $30 billion but, under its current structure, has largely excluded the rural poor.

CGIAR centers seek to provide the research required to accelerate policy reforms farmers need to adapt to new conditions caused by climate change. For example, CGIAR research on water management can drive better national and regional polices that allow for a more prudent distribution of water resources to support rural livelihoods. CGIAR scientists will also be generating an array of data that helps policy makers at all levels to understand how particular decisions and tradeoffs regarding conservation and development affect food security and agricultural systems.

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), established in 1971, is a strategic partnership of countries, international and regional organizations and private foundations supporting the work of 15 international agricultural research Centers. In collaboration with national agricultural research systems, civil society and the private sector, the CGIAR fosters sustainable agricultural growth through high-quality science aimed at benefiting the poor through stronger food security, better human nutrition and health, higher incomes and improved management of natural resources. www.cgiar.org

Source: SeedQuest.com
6 December 2007

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1.20  Adapting agriculture to climate change

Australia
Early action to adapt to climate change impacts could have substantial short-term benefits for some Australian agricultural systems but joint research between farmers, scientists and policymakers is needed to adapt to the larger-scale changes expected.

A paper published today in the international science journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS) identifies several practical steps to adapt Australia’s agricultural sector to climate change.

“Given that our climate has already changed and that further change seems inevitable, it is important to take a pro-active stance to assess adaptation options, their benefits and costs, and how to alter policy and investment environments to facilitate their uptake,” says lead author Dr Mark Howden of CSIRO.

Climate adaptation analyses can reward early adopters of climate information, build the capacity for effective climate risk management, inform infrastructure investment decisions and help inform international discussions on reducing greenhouse gas emissions such as those happening in Bali this week.

“Given that our climate has already changed and that further change seems inevitable, it is important to take a pro-active stance to assess adaptation options, their benefits and costs, and how to alter policy and investment environments to facilitate their uptake,” says lead author Dr Mark Howden of CSIRO.”“Practical adaptations such as changing timing of plantings or the varieties or species of crops grown might avoid the damage caused by 1 to 2 degree changes in temperature – those expected over the next few decades,” he says.

“However, their effectiveness declines with higher temperature increases. Consequently, the damages from climate change will increase unless a whole new array of adaptations are developed and used. These adaptations may need to include diversification of production systems and livelihoodsand would need supporting policies and programs in addition to soundly based research and development.”

Dr Howden and his co-authors identify six key elements needed for putting in place effective adaptation responses:
-conviction that climate changes are real and likely to continue
-confidence that these changes will significantly impact on their enterprise
-technical and other options to respond to the changes
-support to make the transitions to new conditions
-new infrastructure, policies and institutions to support the new management and land use arrangements
-targeted monitoring of adaptations to learn what works, what does not and why.

Dr Howden says that getting increased adaptation action will need integration of climate change-related issues with other risk factors such as climate variability and market risk and with other policy domains such as sustainable development. It will also need adaptation assessment frameworks that are relevant, robust and easily operated by farmers, policymakers and scientists.

Dr Howden is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, shared with Al Gore. Dr Howden says that large scale problems such as climate change have to be addressed by both individual and collective action.

The Climate Adaptation Flagship led by CSIRO will work with agricultural industries and natural resource managers to find effective solutions to the challenges of managing Australia’s variable and changing climate.

Source: SeedQuest
4 December 2007

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1.21  UN head calls for more biofuels research

The UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-Moon, has called for more scientific research to develop biofuels and other renewable and alternative energy sources.

Biofuels "hold great promise" he told journalists this week (11 November) during a visit to Brazil.

But he said that "although scientists need to be creative in research and development", food security and other issues related to the environment need to be looked at and "it will be healthy to have a broad debate and research on this matter."

"Clearly biofuels have great potential for good and, perhaps, also for harm. It is up to national governments to responsibly balance the social costs and benefits," Ki-Moon added.

His comments come at a time of controversy over the impact of biofuels on food security and the environment.

On 25 October, the UN's special rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, reported to the UN Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) that turning crops into fuel for cars is increasing the prices of food and resulting in more hunger.

Ziegler told the committee that "It is a crime against humanity to convert agriculturally productive soil into soil which produces foodstuff that will be burned into biofuel." He called for a five-year moratorium on production while the technology to produce biofuels from crops is improved.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) later labeled Ziegler's description of biofuel production "regrettable." 

Jeff Tschirley, head of the FAO's Environment Assessment and Management Unit, told SciDev.Net that the recommended moratorium on biofuel production would be a hindrance to exploring the potential benefits of bioenergy.

According to Tschirley, the FAO is concerned about the impacts of bioenergy development on food security and environmental goods and services, and is confronting them by working directly with governments and other stakeholders.

"A moratorium, even a partial one, would close off opportunities for these stakeholders to assess bioenergy potential and devise equitable schemes to develop this resource," Tschirley said to SciDev.Net.

But he added that Ziegler's comments were "another call on the global community to act responsibly with regards to biofuels".

by Eva Aguilar

Source: SciDev.net
15 November 2007

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1.22  SciDev.Net explores the biofuel challenge

Read SciDev.Net's new spotlight on biofuel R&D: www.scidev.net/biofuels

Biofuels are described by some as 'absolutely catastrophic' because of their potential consequences ­ for example, raising the cost of food or diverting agricultural land to energy production ­ but are seen by others as 'the driving force for development in some of the world's poorest regions'.

SciDev.Net picks a path between doomsayers and utopians, and looks at the reality of biofuels research and development in the developing world.

-William Dar, director general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), addresses the lack of research on the yields of biofuel crops, such as jatropha, and the uncertainty this brings energy economies and their farmers.
-Maureen. R. Wilson, chemist/laboratory manager at the Sugar Industry Research Institute in Jamaica, argues that biofuels are a lifeline for sugar-producing countries hit by the European Union's 2006 sugar reforms, and focuses on improving technology to produce ethanol from crop residues.  
-Siwa Msangi, research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), demands strong international policies to stop the biofuel revolution threatening food security for the poor.
-S. Arungu-Olende, secretary-general of the African Academy of Sciences, calls for 'massive investment' in energy resource development and use, and the putting in place of mechanisms for capacity building in the energy sector.

In an accompanying editorial, I suggest that, despite the many promises of biofuels, the potential severity of their side-effects means we should proceed with caution. It also means that more research is needed to enable us to take sound evidence-based decisions on biofuels policy, and avoid a reckless leap of faith.

Finally two of our freelance correspondents describe how biofuels research projects are developing on the ground. Carla Almeida highlights Brazil's biofuel success and the country's need to develop new applications of ethanol. Kimani Chege explores what is being done to harness Africa's vast biomass resources and the research needed to achieve better yielding biofuel crops and more efficient fuels.

We have also collated SciDev.Net's coverage of relevant news and created a collection of links to key background documents and organisations.

David Dickson
Director, SciDev.Net
December, 2007

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1.23  Should energy be a product of 21st century agriculture in developing countries? 

by Masa Iwanaga and Rodomiro Ortiz
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

Summary
Recent policies fostering use of alternative, renewable energy sources in the industrialized world confront developing countries with diverse opportunities and challenges: how to integrate with potential biofuel markets, deal with impacts on food security, alleviate poverty, and manage crop and natural resources sustainably. Biofuels should form part of a global, cross-cutting agenda of agricultural research, involving partners in the farming and energy sectors. Work should generate public goods, including broad-based knowledge, enabling technology, and tools for assessment. The agricultural systems required will feature, among other things, sustainable production and efficient use of biomass, partitioning it among energy, feed, food and CO2 fixation demands. They should be more efficient and propoor, and use existing farmland or marginal (dry, waterlogged, saline) tracts. Organizations such as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and its research centers may play the following roles: • Developer of analytical tools.
• Policy analyst and advocate for bio-energy, livelihoods and food security.
• Provider of allele sources or advanced lines and populations of improved crop cultivars.
• Catalyzer of research on useful crop traits and effective cropresource management.
• Proprietary technology broker to ensure bio-energy at the village level.
• Knowledge-sharing facilitator throughout the bio-energy value chain.
• Knowledge integrator for complex food-feed-fiber-fuel environmental service systems. Public-private partnerships will have to engage the broader agricultural and development policy research community, addressing the following issues in ways that benefit farmers and consumers:
• Possible tradeoffs of food/feed/fiber versus fuel. Under what conditions could the demand for biofuels­especially from food crop sources­increase food or feed prices and affect food security, locally or globally?
• Environmental costing of biofuels. The energy output should be higher than the energy used to produce a given biofuel.
• Less water-demanding biofuels than current alternatives.
• Environmental services: eco-friendly biofuels may reduce Cemissions, mitigating climate change.
• Opportunity windows and risks from biofuels, particularly for resource-poor producers and consumers.
• Energy institutions and bio-energy management.
• Policy-driven versus user-demand effects. What are the roles of governments and their expectations in the face of unstable and rising oil prices? Other political or economic considerations?
• Partnerships and roles for international, regional, or national research organizations: how to foster innovative research for development to produce food and energy, while expanding the ecologically-friendly use of marginal or waste lands, increasing incomes and providing new labor options for the poor.
• The role of public agricultural research organizations to speed the development and adoption of second generation, lignocellulose biofuel technologies.

The agenda for crop improvement will include increasing plant grain and biomass productivity, optimizing the chemical and physical attributes of biofuel sources, and improving specific traits in first- and second-generation biofuel crops, within a framework of sustainable agriculture. Frontier approaches should be applied to study the possible advantages of perennial biofuel crops that are more photosynthetically productive, entail lower input costs, and improve soil nutrient input and retention. Through alliances with the bio-energy industry, research should also adapt industrial processes to biomass sources and sources to promising processes.

“The fuel of the future is going to come from apples, weeds, sawdust – almost anything. There is fuel in every bit of vegetable matter that can be fermented.” Henry Ford, 1925

Converting agricultural production to energy has become an important and well-funded global research goal,3 as petroleum oil reserves fall and prices rise. Indeed, rising fuel prices, growing energy demand, and concerns over global warming from greenhouse gas emissions and domestic energy security have put bio-energy at large and crop biofuels in particular in the research agenda for agriculture worldwide.Biofuels are attracting great attention in Asia, for example, where steady population growth and attendant energy demands outstrip supplies from fossil fuels. Per capita energy use by the two giants, China and India, pose local and global ecological hazards.Developing world governments elsewhere are showing a keen interest in renewable energy sources, particularly biofuels, both to reduce expensive fossil-fuel imports and to expand markets for their crops. Hence, global demands for clean energy appear to coincide with long-held interests in expanding agricultural markets to benefit the rural poor. Achieving this without endangering the environment or affordable food and feed supplies will require the creation of complex, cross-sector linkages and partnerships, creating and strengthening strategic alliances among public and private organizations and the agriculture and energy sectors.

Source: Keynote on Session “Food Security vs. Biofuels in Asia” in the Expert Consultation on Biofuels, Co-sponsored by APAARI, CIMMYT, IRRI and ICRISAT, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippines, 27-29 August 2007

Contributed by Rodomiro Ortiz R.ORTIZ@CGIAR.ORG

For copy of entire article contact Rodomiro Ortiz

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1.24  “New agriculture” needs a new FAO - Climate change, population growth and FAO’s own future among key challenges

Rome, Italy
Agriculture will play a crucial role in the key issues facing humanity this century, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said today. “I should like to see the new agriculture aligned with a new FAO”.

Mr Diouf was addressing FAO’s supreme governing body, the 192-member Conference at the start of a week-long session due to decide on proposals for a major reform of the Organization, and to vote on its budget.

“During the course of this week you will be making decisions that will have a profound impact on the future of the Organization,” Mr Diouf said. “Those decisions will be made in a new agricultural context on the world stage. In the last two years agriculture has returned to the international agenda,” he added.

Central role

The centrality of agriculture was underscored in the World Bank’s recent 2008 World Development Report, the first to be devoted to agriculture for a quarter of a century. “It is time to place agriculture afresh at the centre of development, taking account of the vastly different context of opportunities and challenges that has emerged,” Diouf said, citing the report.

“On climate change, energy supply, natural resources depletion, population movements, and indeed on the very health and security of nations, agriculture is central both to the problem and to its resolution,” Diouf said.

Equally pressing was the challenge of feeding a world population estimated to top 9 billion by 2050, he added. “This will require a second Green Revolution aimed at virtually doubling food production in the first half of this century.”

The Director-General underlined FAO’s fundamental contribution in addressing these issues and recalled that he has proposed two high-level meetings to discuss them next year.

The first meeting, scheduled for June 2008, will focus on climate change, bioenergy and food security, while the second will address issues such as population growth, migration and urbanization and their impact on future food security.

Recent activities, way ahead

The Director-General highlighted FAO’s work over the past two years, including its role in the ongoing fight against bird flu, its food safety activities and its efforts to reverse erosion of the world’s genetic resources for food and agriculture.

Regarding the way ahead, Diouf said that FAO was being called on to “reform with growth” as a result of the Organization’s first Independent External Evaluation, which includes over 100 recommendations for changes.

Such reform would enable FAO to play a still more incisive role in helping to cut the numbers of the 850 million human beings still suffering from hunger and malnutrition and achieving the Millennium Development Goals’ target on hunger and poverty reduction, Diouf said.

He welcomed the evaluation’s recognition of the “unique importance and relevance of FAO’s role in the United Nations and in the world” and hoped Members would “allow FAO to maintain the balance of the recommendations made by having the necessary financial means to implement the proposed reforms.”

Over the past few years, FAO’s work has been affected by a series of effective budget cuts.

The Conference observed a minute’s silence for the victims of the cyclone in Bangladesh. It was attended for the first time by the Russian Federation, which joined last year. It also welcomed the Republic of Montenegro and the Principality of Andorra as new Members and the Faroe Islands as an Associate Member.

Source: SeedQuest.com
19 November 2007

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1.25  Transgenic technology: pro-poor or pro-rich?

by Rodomiro Ortiz and Melinda Smale

Astract
Transgenic crops were originally developed for temperate climates and industrialized agriculture. Nonetheless, genetic engineering has the potential to address some of the most challenging biotic and abiotic constraints faced by farmers in non-industrialized agriculture, which are not easily addressed through conventional plant breeding alone. These constraints include insect pests and viruses, as well as drought. A second advantage of genetic transformation is that it can add an economically valuable trait while maintaining other desirable characteristics of the host cultivar. For example, enhanced product quality or micronutrients can be added to a welladapted cultivar that already yields well under local conditions. This feature is particularly attractive for semi-commercial, small-holder farmers in non-industrialized agriculture, who are more likely to consume as well as sell their farm products. Farmers in developing economies face problems with access to the markets that can supply productivity-enhancing inputs and income from sales of farm products, and unless investments are to support the development of local market infrastructure, including the flow of information, transgenic seed will not be profitable. Profitability will indeed remain the most important factor that drives farmers to adopt and retain new technology anywhere in the world. Whether a technology that is profitable for farmers can be developed depends on factors such as research capacity, environmental and food safety regulations, intellectual property rights, and performance of agricultural input markets. The poor of the developing world should benefit from the deployment of desirable transgenic crops that follows scientifically-sound biosafety and food safety standards and appropriate intellectual property management and stewardship. Use of transgenic crops should be the result of social consensus.

Source: Chronica Horticulturae  47:9-12, 2007.
Contributed by Rodomiro Ortiz R.ORTIZ@CGIAR.ORG

For copy of entire article contact Rodomiro Ortiz

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1.26  The conservation of global crop genetic resources in the face of climate change

Summary statement from a Bellagio meeting held on 3-7 September 2007

Introduction
The release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fourth report in 2007 confirms once again­with strong scientific consensus­that the global climate is changing, and that humans are both causing and will be damaged by this change. The ability of ecosystems to provide the most basic types of services to humans, such as food and water, will be affected by climate change throughout the world. A common assumption is that agricultural systems will shift in response to climate change over time to regions with suitable agro-climatic conditions, resulting in little net impact on global food supplies in the future. However, this assumption overlooks a critical set of conditions: that crops will shift only with extensive genetic manipulation through breeding, and that these breeding efforts will require the continued collection, evaluation, deployment and conservation of diverse crop genetic material. In September 2007, a group of experts from the genetic conservation, climate science, agricultural development, and plant genetics and breeding communities met at the Rockefeller Foundation Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy, to initiate a discussion about the management of global crop genetic resources in the face of climate change. Our underlying focus was on global food security­defined here as the ability of all people at all times to have access to sufficient diets for a healthy and productive life. Much of the discussion therefore centered on malnourished populations, the majority of whom depend to some extent on agriculture for their livelihoods. In particular, we directed our attention toward two key regions of food insecurity: a) South Asia, where the largest number of chronically hungry people live despite impressive technological gains in agriculture during the past 40 years and widespread use of irrigation in some areas; and b) the African continent, where the incidence of hunger is greatest and where rainfed systems account for over 90% of crop production.

The primary contribution of the meeting entailed the integration and advancement of two main bodies of work:

1. Projections of regional climate changes and their potential impacts on:
     a. Future distributions of crops and their wild relatives, and
     b. Agricultural productivity in developing countries
2. Comprehensive assessments of the needs and constraints on crop genetic collections, characterization, conservation, and breeding for future food security.

The interdisciplinary nature of the meeting revealed new insights for all participants and novel approaches for research and prioritization across the board­thus highlighting the importance of cross-disciplinary efforts in addressing the future impacts of climate change.

This document is divided into two sections: a) a brief summary of the material presented at the meeting on climate projections, potential climate impacts on existing agricultural systems, and seed collections and evaluation; and b) our collective views on priorities and actions needed to conserve crop genetic resources into the long-run future and to evaluate these resources for use in breeding.

The main target audience is the Global Crop Diversity Trust, whose mission is to ensure the conservation and availability of global crop diversity in perpetuity in gene banks throughout the world, including the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Norway). Our hope is that many other audiences­including the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, national leaders, advanced research centers, and foundations and international agencies investing in agriculture and rural development­will also find the results of this meeting important and worth acting upon.

2^nd part
The Breeding Challenge
With a focus on the collection of genetic material for traits and at the extreme ends of the diversity scale, we unveiled a major constraint on linking collections to breeding in the future. Crop breeders are typically rewarded for the creation of new and improved varieties that are used widely by farmers and accepted by consumers. Creating these varieties requires time, focus, and money. Breeders are evaluated on the number of varieties developed, released, and deployed over a given time period; the incremental gain reflected in these varieties; and their eventual economic success. They are not typically rewarded on a single variety over an unlimited breeding period unless the variety is exceptional and has lasting success. Based on this incentive structure, most breeders work with a generally limited segment of the core genetic collection available to them­the segment of genetic diversity that has sufficient variation and has performed well in the past. Breeders are generally reluctant to explore the genetic material in wild relatives, because the wild relatives contain too much random genetic information (having evolved in response to multiple forces in the wild) for efficient identification and isolation of traits. Yet the genetic material at the extreme ends of landrace diversity and within wild populations is likely to be essential for successful breeding in the face of global climate change. Moreover, this diversity­which is so important to future adaptation to climate change­may itself fall prey to climate change. For example, temperature tolerance in a wild relative may be lost because the wild relative may not be able to cope with a change in water availability, both a product of climate change. As a result of the mismatch between breeders’ incentives and the potential value of genetic material in wild relatives and the extreme ends of landrace diversity, we placed strategic priority on the initiation of programs for:

3. Pre-breeding as a public good. Pre-breeding would entail the evaluation of genetic material at the extreme, using available and conventional tools that remain powerful (e.g., cytogenetics). Such an effort would require substantial time and resources. Given that an increasing share of crop genetic material used for breeding is being privatized, it is essential that genetic resources be maintained in the public domain, i.e., under the terms of the International Treaty, for prebreeding efforts, and that the results be publicly available to the global community of breeders. Gene banks have an important role to play in prebreeding, particularly given breeders’ reluctance to explore crop wild relatives. The Education challenge Meeting the collection and breeding goals described above creates new educational challenges and opportunities for involving the international community in efforts to conserve and utilize crop diversity effectively for the benefit of humankind. Substantial scientific talent exists in advanced research institutes, including universities, which could be mobilized to augment the efforts at the CG Centers and the National Agricultural Agencies. It may appear that the majority of researchers in these advanced laboratories are more focused on their next set of publications than on contributing to improvements in the welfare of the poor. But they also may not be informed of what exactly is at stake or how to benefit from the enormous potential gains in this field. Our final strategic priority was thus:

4. Informing key players of the need for the conservation of crop genetic resources in the face of climate change. These groups include:
-  The Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources
-  The FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
-  National leaders
-  Advanced scientific research institutions, and
-  The international development and philanthropic communities

The four priority actions outlined above­creating trait-based collection strategies, collecting material at the extreme ends of genetic diversity, establishing pre-breeding as a public good, and educating key players about the importance of conserving genetic resources in the face of climate change­require immediate attention by the international policy and science communities.

If the policy and science communities are not brought together on this issue, the ability of agricultural systems to adapt to climate change will be limited. Sadly, the first and greatest losers in such an outcome are likely to be the world’s poorest populations.

http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/22065/Bellagio_final1.pdf

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1.27  The experts agree on an equivalent of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for biodiversity

Montpellier, France
When will there be an intergovernmental panel on biodiversity along the lines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)? The specialists are hoping such a structure can be set up by the end of 2008. In November, almost 80 of them met in Montpellier and agreed on the remit for such a panel: to provide both independent and credible expertise, build regional and local scientific capacity, make knowledge more accessible and improve the interface between science and policy. These conclusions are the fruit of two and a half years of international and regional deliberations, organized on all five continents by the Steering Committee for an IMoSEB (International Mechanism of Scientific Expertise on Biodiversity)*. The specialists are planning to organize an intergovernmental conference in 2008, in conjunction with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which should serve to determine how the structure could be set up.

So that nobody can say in future "we didn't know"
In particular, the conference should take account of the results and consequences of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) conducted between 2001 and 2005 to estimate the impact of human activity on the environment and, conversely, the way in which such changes affect future prospects for terms of human health and wellbeing. The biodiversity experts and those involved in the MEA have a similar view of the current issues surrounding biodiversity. It is not enough to draw up a list of threatened or extinct species. Biodiversity needs to be seen as a whole, in terms of management but also of environmental services rendered, for instance from the point of view of adaptation to climate change. The disappearance of some species can have dramatic consequences for animal - and subsequently for human - health. For instance, entire regions, such as certain valleys in Nepal, no longer have any pollinators. Another example is the appearance in certain geographical zones of living organisms - seafood toxins, animal viruses, fruit tree parasites - that disrupt the ecosystem and can have serious economic and sanitary consequences.

One idea is to set up a panel of experts drawn from the range of existing networks. International bodies and NGOs need to be involved in the process. All the multilateral agreements are also concerned: the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD), the World Heritage Convention, the Ramsar Convention on wetlands, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), that on Migratory Species (CMS), and regional agreements, not forgetting the conventions on climate change and desertification. Everyone needs to realize the merits of setting up a heavyweight federative structure to ensure that nobody - politicians, scientists, economic players or public opinion - can say in future "we didn't know".

The French government is backing the initiative
The ball is now in the politicians' court. The French government has confirmed its support for the initiative. Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, the Secretary of State for Ecology, who was at the Montpellier meeting, stressed the importance of the initiative with regard to the recent "Grenelle de l’Environnement" talks in France. The Minister for Higher Education and Research, Valérie Pécresse, who met Didier Babin, a CIRAD researcher and executive secretary of the process towards an IMoSEB the day after the event, is now due to submit the idea to her peers.

* The executive secretariat of IMoSEB has been entrusted to the Institut français de la biodiversité (IFB), of which CIRAD is a member.

Source: CIRAD via SeedQuest.com
30 November 2007

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1.28  We are not hardwired to react to the crop diversity crisis

Rome, Italy
Admit it. Together with a cup of coffee, the daily headlines – murders, wars, scandals and the like – pump us up. We are addicted to the drama of it all.

We're not alone. Animal communication, as Prof. Ray Jackendoff of the Center for Cognitive Sciences at Tufts University observes, focuses on the immediate and pressing as well: food, danger, threat, reconciliation.

Chimpanzees, born in captivity, react with terror upon first seeing a snake. No teaching, no learning required. Like other animals, we as a species are hard-wired to respond to imminent threat. Literally hard-wired, according to psychologist Stephen Pinker of Harvard University. We are programmed to react and react quickly to a punch being thrown in our direction, as well as to something that jumps out of the dark and startles us. We have reflexes, physical, mental and social.

We are not hard-wired, it seems, to respond so quickly or appropriately to threats that are around the corner, regardless of their size, certainty or deadliness. Armies can be mobilized over night to counter threats, real or perceived. Climate change, on the other hand, engenders debate and careful consideration as if the biggest danger it poses lies in quick and decisive action. Mobilization takes time.

Politicians dealing with crop diversity are similarly inclined to deal with immediate and flashy issues while underestimating the importance of even larger chronic problems. Focused on financial and legal matters, delegates to a recent meeting of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources scarcely uttered the phrase "climate change". Lost in earnest discussions of "benefit sharing" was the fact that some 50% of crop diversity collections held in developing countries are in urgent need of rescue and regeneration after years of slow deterioration. The problem was first noted in 1996.

A crop diversity crisis?
Most unique samples could rot and die without an emergency or crisis being proclaimed. We don't immediately feel pain by not conserving crop diversity.

Agricultural crises will occur (that's a certainty), but we will probably never have a "crop diversity crisis", because of the lag time between cause and effect. Today's oversights in caring for this resource provoke tomorrow's emergencies, but at most we are hard-wired only to deal with the latter.

What would constitute a crisis or an emergency for crop diversity? Obvious answer: A big, valuable, unique collection could be wiped out.

But wait; isn't this exactly what is happening? Consider the 50% regeneration figure cited above, based on data supplied by the countries themselves. We are losing diversity. The loss is just not happening quickly enough to be defined, like a punch being thrown at our face, as an imminent threat. That's the good news, I suppose. It's also the bad news.

Hard choices are only made when no other options remain.

For the moment, too many of us are still exploring the option of "business as usual". In international arenas, this manifests itself as old "us versus them" politics as countries jockey for position. They curse and cajole rather than collaborate.

We will have reached a different plane in the decades-old debate over plant genetic resources when our bio-politicians recognize the threat around the corner and start to enunciate and support strategies for dealing with it - when they realize that positioning agricultural systems to provide food security in a climate changed world is the supreme benefit to be generated from crop diversity.

In the plant genetic resources world, neither donor nor recipient is hard-wired to respond to unarticulated threats with unarticulated remedies. But in the absence of such a shared vision, political and financial support is inadequate. Should we be surprised?

Clear and present danger
This does not mean that threats and dangers are not out there, or that plans don't exist for dealing with them. By 2050, the world's population will increase by 37% to 9.2 billion, resulting in a commensurate need for more food. Rising incomes are likely to generate even greater demand. Currently yields of crops that the poor depend upon, such as roots and tubers (cassava, yam, sweet potato, taro) are on track to provide just a 29% increase by 2050, meaning that an already bleak