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Agricultural Biotechnologies
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The News items relate to applications of biotechnologies in food and agriculture in developing countries and their major focus is on the activities of FAO, other UN agencies/bodies and the 15 CGIAR research centres. The News items cover all food and agricultural sectors (crops, forestry, fisheries/aquaculture, livestock, agro-industry) and a wide range of biotechnologies (e.g. use of molecular markers, artificial insemination, triploidisation, biofertilisers, micropropagation, genomics, genetic modification etc.). New documents are included as News if they are freely available on the web and, for people who can't download them or who wish further information, an e-mail contact is also provided. The News service was launched in January 2002 and all News items posted since then (there were 800 in the first 9 years) are available here. The news and event items on this website are also disseminated through an e-mail newsletter called FAO-BiotechNews that is published in six different versions, one per language i.e. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. To subscribe, send a message to [email protected] indicating which e-mail addresses are to be subscribed and in which language they wish to receive the newsletter.
17/07/2007
Two main sections of the FAO biotechnology website have recently been updated. The first, on FAO Activities, includes an introductory webpage on FAO activities in the field of biotechnology as well as one webpage each for its four main activities i.e. providing i) advice to governments ii) technical assistance iii) information and iv) a meeting place for nations. The second, on FAO Documents, provides an annotated list of freely-downloadable documents and now includes over 160 web links to a wide range of articles, books, meeting reports, proceedings and studies published by FAO, or prepared in collaboration with FAO, over the last 10 years concerning biotechnology in food and agriculture. See http://www.fao.org/biotech/act.asp and http://www.fao.org/biotech/doc.asp respectively (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Spanish) or contact [email protected] with any comments.
16/07/2007
The latest edition (nr. 40) of the Animal Genetic Resources Information (AGRI) bulletin has now been published, including a 13-page paper on "The use of reproductive and molecular biotechnology in animal genetic resources management a global overview" by D. Pilling and co-authors from FAO`s Animal Production and Health Division. AGRI is published under the auspices of FAO and includes articles, in English, French or Spanish, on all aspects of the characterisation, conservation and utilisation of animal genetic resources of interest to food and agriculture production. See http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a1128t/a1128t00.htm or contact [email protected] for more information.
15/07/2007
In conjunction with the publication of the new FAO book on "Marker-assisted selection: Current status and future perspectives in crops, livestock, forestry and fish", the FAO Newsroom has just released a web interview with Shivaji Pandey, Chairperson of FAO`s Working Group on Biotechnology, on marker-assisted selection entitled "Benefits and limits of an important biotech tool". The interview can be read at http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000630/index.html or can be received by e-mail from [email protected].
14/07/2007
The July 2007 newsletter from the Animal Production and Health Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture and the FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory is now available. The 24-page newsletter, issued twice a year, gives an overview of past and upcoming projects, publications and events. The editorial highlights the issue of improving reproductive efficiency of animals, through e.g. applying biotechnologies. See http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/aph/public/ap-nl-46.pdf (591 KB) or contact [email protected] to subscribe to the newsletter.
13/07/2007
The July 2007 newsletter from the Plant Breeding and Genetics Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture and the FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory is now available. This 52-page newsletter, issued twice a year, gives an overview of their past and upcoming events (meetings, training courses etc.), ongoing projects and publications. The editorial discusses the use of induced mutations in crop improvement. See http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/pbg/public/pb-nl-19.pdf (2.2 MB) or contact [email protected] to request a copy.
12/07/2007
The July 2007 newsletter from the Insect Pest Control Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture and the FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory is now available on the web. The 40-page newsletter, issued twice a year, gives an overview of past, ongoing and future activities of the Section and Laboratory, which include research into applications of biotechnologies to insects (e.g. fruit flies) as part of future insect pest control strategies. See http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/ipc/public/ipc-nl-69.pdf (1.5 MB) or contact [email protected] for more information.
11/07/2007
On 27-31 May 2003, an international conference entitled "In the wake of the double helix: From the green revolution to the gene revolution" took place in Bologna, Italy, co-sponsored by FAO. Proceedings of the conference, edited by R. Tuberosa, R.L. Phillips and M. Gale, are now available on the web. The 48 reviews and articles included in the proceedings are organised into six sections: the architects of the green revolution; biodiversity and germplasm resources; genes, QTLs and crop improvement; tools, models and platforms for plant genomics; genetic engineering for food security and biofarming; and plant biotechnology and society. See the proceedings or contact [email protected] for more information.
10/07/2007
The report of the 2nd International Meeting of Academic Institutions and Organizations Involved in Biosafety Education and Training, that was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 16-18 April 2007, is now available. The meeting was organised by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), with support from the Governments of Denmark and Switzerland and the Biosafety Interdisciplinary Research Network, and hosted by the Government of Malaysia. See the 34-page report, plus the meeting documents, at http://www.cbd.int/doc/meeting.aspx?mtg=BETAIO-02 or contact [email protected] for more information.
09/07/2007
On 29 September 2006, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) organised a workshop in Jeju Island, South Korea, entitled "Beyond the Blue Book: Framework for risk/ safety assessment of transgenic plants". A 4-page `overview of the workshop` by M. Kobayashi and P. Kearns is now available on the web. See http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/4/38921489.doc or contact [email protected] for more information.
08/07/2007
As part of the series on Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology, the OECDs Working Group on Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology has recently published the "Consensus document on safety information on transgenic plants expressing Bacillus thuringiensis - derived insect control protein". The 109-page document "summarises the information available on the source of Bacillus thuringiensis delta-endotoxin genes, the structure and properties of the toxins they encode, unique mechanisms of action, use in plants, toxicity and exposure data, and assessment methods". See the document or contact [email protected] for more information.
07/07/2007
The FAO Working Group on Biotechnology has just published "Marker-assisted selection: Current status and future perspectives in crops, livestock, forestry and fish", edited by E.P. Guimarães, J. Ruane, B.D. Scherf, A. Sonnino and J.D. Dargie. The 494-page book is organised into six sections: an introduction to marker-assisted selection (MAS), in chapters 1-2; case studies of MAS in crops (including cassava, common beans, cotton, forage crops, maize, tomato and wheat), in chapters 3-9; case studies of MAS in livestock (including dairy cattle, goats, poultry and sheep), in chapters 10-13; case studies of MAS in forestry (including eucalyptus), in chapters 14-15; case studies of MAS in fish and shellfish, in chapters 16-17; and the final section is devoted to a selection of non-technical issues relevant to applications of MAS in developing countries, such as national research capacities and international partnerships, economic considerations, the impacts of intellectual property rights, and policy considerations (chapters 18-22). See http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a1120e/a1120e00.htmor contact [email protected] to request a copy, providing your full postal address.
06/07/2007
FAO is happy to announce the launching of FAO-BiotechNews-Cn, an e-mail newsletter providing updates of news and event items in Chinese that are relevant to applications of biotechnology in food and agriculture in developing countries. It is the Chinese version of the English-language newsletter FAO-BiotechNews. The main focus of its news and event items is on the activities of FAO, of other United Nations (UN) agencies/bodies and of the 15 research centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), in addition to activities of a few major non-UN inter-governmental organizations. See more details about FAO-BiotechNews-Cn at http://www.fao.org/biotech/welcn.pdf (in Chinese). To subscribe, send an e-mail to [email protected] with the subject blank and the following one-line text message:subscribe FAO-BiotechNews-Cn-L
05/07/2007
The report is now available of the 11th Regular Session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) that took place at FAO Headquarters, Rome on 11-15 June 2007. The major achievement of the session was the adoption of a ten-year rolling Multi-year Programme of Work on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture, covering all genetic resources of relevance to food and agriculture (see paragraphs 88-94 and Appendix E). Paragraphs 45-49 of the report deal with `Progress on the draft Code of Conduct on Biotechnology, as it relates to genetic resources for food and agriculture` while paragraphs 50-53 cover `Guiding Principles for the development of CGIAR Centres policies to address the possibility of unintentional presence of transgenes in ex situ collections`. See http://www.fao.org/ag/cgrfa/cgrfa11.htm for the report (document CGRFA-11/07/REPORT) in English, with Arabic, Chinese, French and Spanish versions to follow, and other Session documents or contact [email protected] for more information. Membership of the CGRFA includes a total of 170 countries and the European Community and its Secretariat is based in FAO Headquarters, Rome. Its next Regular Session takes place in 2009.
04/07/2007
On 14-16 September 2005, the Panel of Eminent Experts on Ethics in Food and Agriculture held its 3rd session at FAO headquarters, Rome. The report of the session is now available. At the meeting, the Panel focused its discussion on nine main themes: fisheries; food safety; food aid; sustainable agricultural intensification; animal welfare and the intensification of animal production; globalization of food and agriculture; hunger, nutrition and the Right to Food Guidelines; global goods, global services and privatization; and intellectual property rights. The issue of genetically modified organisms was addressed in discussions of four of the themes. See the report (in English, French and Spanish, with Arabic and Chinese to come), more information on the Panel at http://www.fao.org/ethics/exp_en.htm or contact [email protected] for more information. The Panel was established by FAO`s Director-General for a four-year period in 2000, meeting twice in this period, and then extended for a further four years in 2004.
03/07/2007
The Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) has submitted for member consultation the draft diagnostic protocol (DP) for Thrips palmi (an insect that causes economic damage to plant crops both as a direct result of its feeding activity and as a result of its ability to vector tospoviruses). The 13-page protocol describes, inter alia, four PCR-based molecular assays that can be used for discrimination of Thrips palmi. DPs are published as annexes to International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) No. 27 (Diagnostic protocols for regulated pests) and they describe procedures and methods for the detection and identification of pests that are regulated by Contracting Parties of the IPPC and relevant for international trade. The draft DP was developed by the Technical Panel on Diagnostic Protocols (TPDP). See the draft DP at https://www.ippc.int/id/184110?language=en (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Spanish), meeting reports of the TPDP at https://www.ippc.int/id/59235?language=en or contact [email protected] for more information. The IPPC is an international treaty relating to plant health, to which 161 governments currently adhere, and its Secretariat is based at FAO Headquarters, Rome.
02/07/2007
In 2003, the Science Council of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) commissioned a strategic study of biosafety across the CGIAR system, in order to shed light on current policies, procedures and practices and to make recommendations on future biosafety policies and practices for the CGIAR system. The Secretariat of the Science Council has just published the `Report of the Biosafety Panel to the CGIAR Science Council on Biosafety Policy and Practices of the CGIAR Centers`, including a commentary from the Science Council on the report. See the document or contact [email protected] for more information. The Secretariat of the Science Council is based in FAO Headquarters, Rome.
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