P.J. Boettcher, I. Hoffmann and R. Baumung from FAO's Animal Production and Health Division, together with collaborators from a number of research institutions worldwide, recently published an article entitled “Genetic resources and genomics for adaptation of livestock to climate change” in the journal Frontiers in Genetics. The report comprises conclusions from the Expert Workshop on Crop and Livestock Diversity for Climate Change Adaptation held in Rome, 8-12 October 2013. The workshop was a collaborative effort among FAO, Bioversity International, the Basque Center for Climate Change and DIVERSITAS. See http://www.fao.org/3/a-av223e.pdf (300 KB) or contact [email protected] to request a copy.

The 5th International Cereal Nematodes Initiative Workshop took place on 12-15 September 2015 in Ankara, Turkey. The workshop was organized by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock of Turkey, and FAO. Proceedings of the workshop are now available, entitled “Nematodes of small grain cereals: Current status and research”, edited by A.A. Dababat, H. Muminjanov and R.W. Smiley. Cereal nematodes are microscopic parasites that invade roots of wheat, barley, oats and other small grain cereals. The 384-page publication contains papers covering the history and status of cereal nematodes globally and regionally; research on morphological, genetic and ecological diversity; development and deployment of host resistance including development and applications of molecular technologies; and investigations into other strategies for reducing the magnitude of economic damage they cause. See http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4934e.pdf (4.5 MB) or contact [email protected] for more information.

Following a first event in November 2014, a second webinar was organized on 27 May 2015 by FAO, the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that addressed the importance of establishing effective national communication and coordination mechanisms on the topic of biosafety. It was preceded by an online discussion in which countries shared their experiences, challenges and best practices on the national communication and coordination mechanisms in place in their country. The 21-page report of the second webinar is now available at http://www.fao.org/3/a-az873e.pdf (640 KB). Following recommendations from the second webinar, a third FAO/CBD/OECD webinar on "International databases on biosafety: Training on effective use of data on the databases” will take place on 9 December 2015. This will provide a training opportunity for participants with practical information on how to effectively use the data and knowledge contained in the three databases. For more information on the third webinar, see http://tiny.cc/Biosafety-Events. For further information, contact [email protected].

At the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, which took place in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, on 6-17 October 2014, one of the decisions made was to establish an Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Synthetic Biology. A meeting of the AHTEG took place in Montreal, Canada on 21-25 September 2015. Substantive items on the meeting agenda included an operational definition of synthetic biology; the relationship between synthetic biology and biological diversity; and the similarities and differences between living modified organisms (as defined in the Cartagena Protocol) and organisms, components and products of synthetic biology techniques. Official and information documents prepared for the meeting, plus the meeting report, are available. See https://www.cbd.int/doc/?meeting=SYNBIOAHTEG-2015-01 or contact [email protected] for more information.

On 20-21 March 2014, FAO held the "Technical consultation on low levels of genetically modified (GM) crops in international food and feed trade" at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy. In 2013, FAO carried out an international survey to gather information on the extent and nature of problems incurred with low levels of GM crops in traded commodities and the results of the survey were used to conduct further analyses on trade, economic impact and relevant food/feed regulatory issues. Prior to the meeting, FAO prepared two technical background documents entitled "Low levels of GM crops in food and feed: Regulatory issues" and "Low levels of GM crops in international food and feed trade: FAO international survey and economic analysis", as well as a simple compilation document of the survey results, entitled "The results of the FAO survey on low levels of genetically modified (GM) crops in international food and feed trade". A press release about the FAO survey, published on 13 March, is available at http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/216311/icode/ (in Arabic, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish). All relevant technical documents (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) and all the presentations made at the technical consultation are also available for download at http://www.fao.org/food/food-safety-quality/a-z-index/biotechnology/llp/. Contact [email protected] for further information.

The Asian Biotechnology and Development Review has just published the article "Ten lessons from biotechnology experiences in crops, livestock and fish for smallholders in developing countries" by J.D. Dargie, J. Ruane, and A. Sonnino. FAO recently commissioned a unique series of 19 case studies where agricultural biotechnologies were used to serve the needs of smallholders in developing countries. Most involved a single crop, livestock or fish species and a single biotechnology. Based on the case studies, this article presents ten general and interrelated lessons which can be used to inform and assist policy-makers when deciding on potential interventions involving biotechnologies for smallholders in developing countries. See http://www.fao.org/docrep/019/as351e/as351e.pdf (200 KB) or contact [email protected] to request an electronic copy.

From the Themes webpage, visitors to the FAO website access a primary entry point for a number of specific topics, communicating what FAO is doing in relation to the subject area and including links to in-depth information. The topics focus on prominent areas of FAO’s work, at both an overarching theme level and in some cases on more specific areas that are of particular interest to specialists, media, the general public, academia and other audiences. The topics include aquaculture, biodiversity, livestock and the environment, south-south cooperation, trade, water and more. Biotechnology has recently been included as a new topic. See http://www.fao.org/biotechnology/en/ or contact [email protected] for more information.

The January 2014 newsletter from the Animal Production and Health Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture is now available. The 43-page newsletter, issued twice a year, gives an overview of past and upcoming training courses, meetings, projects, news stories and publications. See https://www.iaea.org/publications/search/type/animal-production-and-health-newsletter or contact [email protected] for more information.

The January 2014 newsletter from the Plant Breeding and Genetics Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture is now available. This 32-page newsletter, issued twice a year, gives an overview of their past and upcoming events (meetings, training courses etc.), ongoing projects and publications. See http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/pbg/public/newsletters-pbg.html or contact [email protected] to request a copy.

On 16-17 October 2013, the Aarhus Convention and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety jointly organized a round table in Geneva, Switzerland, on access to information, public participation and access to justice regarding living modified organisms/genetically modified organisms (LMOs/GMOs). Its outcomes are expected to facilitate further implementation of the Aarhus Convention's Almaty Amendment on GMOs and to contribute to the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol's programme of work on public awareness, education and participation concerning LMOs. See the round table documents and the advanced edited version of the report at http://www.unece.org/gmo_2013.html or contact [email protected] for more information.

Article 23 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety requires that Parties shall, in accordance with their respective laws and regulations, consult the public in the decision-making process regarding living modified organisms and shall make the results of such decisions available to the public, while respecting confidential information in accordance with Article 21. In order to facilitate exchange of views and information regarding the techniques of public participation in the context of the Protocol, the Secretariat is holding an online discussion from 28 April to 9 May 2014 on "Techniques for engaging the public". The outcomes will be summarized in a background document for the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (COP-MOP 8). Parties, other governments and relevant organizations are invited to nominate individuals involved in, or responsible for, promoting public participation to participate in the Forum. See http://bch.cbd.int/onlineconferences/portal_art23/pp_forum_discussion.shtml or contact [email protected] for more information.

The latest issue (December 2013) of the OECD Biotechnology Update, prepared by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Internal Co-ordination Group for Biotechnology, is now available. The 33-page newsletter provides updated information on the diverse activities at OECD related to biotechnology. See http://www.oecd.org/env/ehs/biotrack/oecdbiotechnologynewsletterupdates.htm or contact [email protected] for more information.

The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) has recently published “Methods and applications of doubled haploid technology in wheat breeding”, by W. Tadesse, S. Tawkaz, M.N. Inagaki, E. Picard and M. Baum. Doubled haploids are genotypes produced through induction of haploids followed by chromosome doubling. Wheat cultivars produced using doubled haploid systems have been released for cultivation in both developed and developing countries. This 25-page manual aims to be a useful guide for wheat breeders, geneticists, biotechnologists, students and technicians. See http://www.icarda.cgiar.org/biodiversity-and-integrated-gene-management or contact [email protected] for more information.

FAO has just published "Biotechnologies at work for smallholders: Case studies from developing countries in crops, livestock and fish”, edited by J. Ruane, J.D. Dargie, C. Mba, P. Boettcher, H.P.S. Makkar, D.M. Bartley and A. Sonnino. This 198-page book documents a series of 19 case studies where agricultural biotechnologies were used to serve the needs of smallholders in developing countries. They were prepared by scientists directly involved in the initiatives who describe the background, achievements, obstacles, challenges and lessons learned from the different case studies. After an introductory first chapter, the next three chapters are dedicated to case studies in the crop, livestock and aquaculture/fisheries sectors respectively. The final chapter summarizes the background, challenges, results and lessons learned from the 19 case studies. See an FAO press release at http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/202820/icode/ (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Italian and Spanish), together with related Question-and-Answers and a radio interview; read the book at http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3403e/i3403e00.htm or contact [email protected] to request a copy, providing your full postal address.

The Third Africa Rice Congress took place on 21-24 October 2013 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, co-organized by the Africa Rice Center and FAO in collaboration with the Government of Cameroon. With its main theme of ‘Rice science for food security through smallholder and agri-business development in Africa’, the Congress took stock of advances in rice science and technology aimed at improving production, processing and marketing practices across the rice value chain in Africa. Attended by over 650 participants from 60 countries, the first two days of the Congress allowed participants to discuss scientific progress through presentations and poster talks, many of which dealt directly or indirectly with the use of biotechnologies, in five parallel sessions. A ‘Cameroon rice day’ was organized on 23 October while the final day included a Ministerial Policy Dialogue. The previous Africa Rice Congress took place in 2010. See http://www.africarice.org/arc2013/ (in English and French) for the Congress Declaration, daily digests, abstracts, presentations and more; an FAO press release at http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/203574/icode/ (in Arabic, English, French and Spanish), together with a radio interview; or contact [email protected] for more information.

At the 6th meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in October 2012 in India, decision BS-VI/13 on socio-economic considerations was adopted, comprising a series of activities to be undertaken prior to the 7th meeting to be held in September 2014 in the Republic of Korea. These included a series of regional online real-time conferences which took place on 13 June 2013 for the Western Europe and Others Group and Central and Eastern Europe; 17 June for Asia and the Pacific; 20 June for Africa; and 27 June for Latin America and the Caribbean (in Spanish). See http://bch.cbd.int/onlineconferences/portal_art26/se_main.shtml for transcripts of the conferences, plus other related resources, or contact [email protected] for further information.