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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.
05/10/2006
The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity recently announced the launch of a new directory of organisations involved in biosafety activities. Accessible through the Biosafety Clearing House (BCH), the directory profiles the nature of work undertaken by each institution, focusing on its relevance to biosafety, and provides detailed contact information as well as links to relevant records in the BCH. It currently contains 134 records. See http://bch.biodiv.org/resources/organizations.shtml or contact [email protected] for more information.
05/10/2006
As part of its EPT (Environment and Production Technology Division) Discussion Papers series, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has recently published "Risk assessment and management of genetically modified organisms under Australia`s Gene Technology Act" by N. Linacre and co-authors. The 21-page paper examines some of the potential regulatory issues that may be affecting the review process and approval of transgenic technologies in Australia. See http://www.ifpri.org/divs/eptd/dp/papers/eptdp157.pdf (289 KB) or contact [email protected] for more information.
05/10/2006
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) recently launched the CGIAR Virtual Library, an internet gateway allowing users to search the online libraries of the CGIAR centres as well as more than 160 outside databases. It provides access to over 4,000 e-journals as well as full-text documents, abstracts and references from pre-selected databases that are grouped according to information type (e.g. CGIAR libraries, reference books, news) or subject (e.g. fish, forestry, genetic resources, water) or database groupings created by the user. See http://vlibrary.cgiar.org or contact [email protected] for more information.
04/10/2006
As part of the Capacity Building Project on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and Sustainable Development, implemented by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), a research paper entitled "The genetic use restriction technologies, intellectual property rights and sustainable development in Eastern and Southern Africa", has just been published by P. Kameri-Mbote and J. Otieno-Odek. Produced in collaboration with the Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa, the 47-page paper examines the interface between GURTs and IPRs on sustainable use of agro-biodiversity and food security. See http://www.iprsonline.org/resources/docs/Gurtz%20paper%20final.doc (227 KB). As part of the same project, "Exceptions to patent rights in developing countries" by C. Garrison is now also available, a paper (92 pages) which discusses, inter alia, exceptions to patent rights for the case of plant varieties (section 4.11). See http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/iteipc200612_en.pdf (990 KB) or contact [email protected] for more information.
03/10/2006
On 21-22 September 2005, the WorldFish Center in collaboration with the China Academy of Fishery Sciences organized the international "Workshop on dissemination of improved fish strains: Country-specific action plans" in Shanghai, China. Proceedings (120 pages) of the workshop are now available, edited by R.W. Ponzoni, B.O. Acosta and A.G. Ponniah, entitled "Development of aquatic animal genetic improvement and dissemination programs: current status and action plans". They are split into two PDF files on the web: the first containing papers presented at the workshop, including one on potential applications of reproductive and molecular genetic technologies, and the second (page 51 onwards) providing a synopsis of small working group discussions. See part 1 (2.3 MB) and part 2 (1.9 MB) respectively, or contact [email protected] for more information.
03/10/2006
FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) are planning to convene jointly an expert consultation in early 2007 that will aim to provide scientific advice and information on issues related to the conducting of food safety assessment of foods derived from recombinant-DNA animals. FAO and WHO are now seeking experts interested in participating in the meeting. Deadline for applications is 15 October. For more details on the consultation and the selection process of experts, see http://www.fao.org/ag/AGN/food/risk_biotech_consultations_en.stm or contact [email protected].
02/10/2006
On 22-26 August 2005, a workshop on "Molecular markers for allele mining" was organised by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute on behalf of the Generation Challenge Programme and hosted by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai, India. Proceedings of the workshop (85 pages) have now been published, edited by M.C. de Vicente and J.C. Glaszmann. See http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pdf/1134.pdf (1 MB) or contact [email protected] for more information.
01/10/2006
The Generation Challenge Program (GCP) annual research meeting was held on 12-16 September 2006 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Presentations and posters from the meeting are now available on the web. See http://www.generationcp.org/arm.php?da=0653125 or contact [email protected] for more information. The GCP is one of the Challenge Programmes approved by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and its aim is to "harness the rich global heritage of plant genetic resources and create a new generation of crops that meet the needs of resource-poor people".
14/07/2006
On 12-13 June 2006 in Madrid, Spain, the Global Partnership Initiative for Plant Breeding Capacity Building (GIPB) held a Stakeholders Forum to discuss the needs for plant breeding and related biotechnology capacities identified by developing country scientists through FAO surveys and the capabilities of GIPB partners to address those needs. A report of the meeting is now available, under Item 1.02 of the latest edition (30 June) of Plant Breeding News, an electronic newsletter on applied plant breeding sponsored by FAO and Cornell University. See the newsletter at http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/services/pbn/pbn-168.htm (includes also instructions for subscribing) or contact [email protected] for more information.
13/07/2006
The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is an international treaty to secure action to prevent the spread and introduction of pests of plants and plant products, and to promote appropriate measures for their control. There are currently 153 Parties to the Convention and it is governed by the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) which adopts International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs). At the 1st Session of the CPM, held in Rome on 3-7 April 2006, one ISPM was revised and three new ISPMs were adopted, including ISPM No. 27 entitled "Diagnostic protocols for regulated pests". This standard provides guidance on the structure and content of the IPPC diagnostic protocols for regulated pests, including information and guidance on methods (e.g. based on biochemical or molecular properties of the pest) that lead to identification of the pest. The ISPM is now available on the web. See https://www.ippc.int/id/133651?language=en (in English and French, with Arabic, Chinese and Spanish coming soon) or contact [email protected] for more information.
12/07/2006
As part of its FAO Fisheries Technical Papers series, the FAO Fisheries Department recently published "The responsible use of antibiotics in aquaculture" by Pilar Hernández Serrano, to raise awareness of the antibiotic resistance problem in fish farming and related sectors. The 97-page document focuses on antibiotics misuse and the concomitant threat of resistance development which is seen as a public health concern affecting the population worldwide. Aspects such as the toxicity and allergic effects of antibiotic residues, the mechanism of transmission of antimicrobial resistance and environmental impact are also taken into account. It also refers to the role of genomics and bioinformatics in the development of new antimicrobials and the use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to study the epidemiology of antibiotic resistance. See http://www.fao.org/tempref/docrep/fao/009/a0282e/a0282e00.pdf or contact [email protected] for more information.
11/07/2006
The Electronic Journal of Biotechnology is a free international scientific journal that publishes papers on all areas of biotechnology, including agricultural biotechnology. It is supported, among others, by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) MIRCEN (Microbial Resources Centres) network and has been operational since April 1998. All papers are freely available on the web and UNESCO also disseminates the journal by CD-ROM to a number of partners in developing countries. A special issue (June 2006) of the journal has just been published, including the complete versions of a significant number of papers presented during the VI Symposium of REDBIO Argentina 2005, held on 7-11 June 2005 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. REDBIO is the Technical Co-operation Network on Plant Biotechnology in Latin America and the Caribbean, based at the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago, Chile. See http://www.ejbiotechnology.info or contact [email protected] for more information.
10/07/2006
The report of the 3rd meeting of UN-Biotech, the inter-agency cooperation network in biotechnology, that took place on 16 May 2006 in Geneva, Switzerland, is now available. At the meeting, the focus was on the establishment of a web portal on biotechnology and it was also agreed that FAO would hold chairmanship of UN-Biotech for the 2006-2007 biennium, with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) continuing to act as secretariat. See http://stdev.unctad.org/docs/unbiotech3.DOC or contact [email protected] for more information.
09/07/2006
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has just produced a report for the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) entitled "Africa Environment Outlook 2 Our Environment, Our Wealth". The 542-page report provides a comprehensive assessment of environmental state-and-trends, and the implications of this for human well-being and development. The report is divided into five sections, namely environment for development; environmental state-and-trends: 20-year retrospective; emerging challenges; outlook; and policy opportunities. One of the four chapters in the `emerging challenges` section is devoted to genetically modified crops. See the report, fact sheets and information materials (press release, video, posters, Power Point presentation) at http://www.unep.org/dewa/africa/aeo2_launch/index.asp or contact [email protected] for more information.
08/07/2006
The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity has just announced the launch of a new central registry of living modified organisms (LMOs) in the framework of the Biosafety Clearing House of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, including information on the transformation event, gene insert and characteristics of the modification and its unique identification code (if available). Links to all decisions that refer to one of these organisms are provided at the bottom of each LMO record accessible through the registry. It currently contains 201 records. See http://bch.biodiv.org/news/news.shtml or contact [email protected] for more information.
07/07/2006
As part of the UNEP-GEF Project on Building Capacity for Effective Participation in the Biosafety Clearing House of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB), the second training of trainers course for information technology (IT) and CPB regional advisors was held on 15-27 May 2006 in Bangkok, Thailand. The report of the training course is now available. See http://www.unep.ch/biosafety/BCH.htm or contact [email protected] for more information.
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