Saturday, October 25, 2014

Food Crops News 255


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food crops
Daily update October 24, 2014


NEWS

New GE Crops/Weed Killer Combo Puts Foods At Risk
More than 440,000 acres of food crops – including potatoes, peas, grapes and tomatoes – could soon be in the toxic spray zones of a weed-killing ...
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Food Safety News
EPA Approves Herbicide For GMO Crops
EPA Approves Herbicide For GMO Crops ... the EPA decision is a big one because it allows 2,4-D to be used on food crops like corn and soybeans.
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The Times of Israel
In Brazil, Israeli-perfected castor used for biofuel
It's easy to grow, thriving on marginal lands where raising food crops is difficult. Also, about half of the content of the castor plant consists of oil, making ...
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Farming UK
Move to ban pesticides 'a threat to UK food security', say scientists
"We currently import just under 50% of our food into the UK, and crop yield reductions due to reduced use of pesticides will almost certainly increase ...
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The Oregonian - OregonLive.com
GMO task force as divided as rest of state when it comes to genetically engineered crops
A task force studying the challenges of raising genetically engineered crops in Oregon has ended up as divided as the rest of the state on the issue. ... food processors, and a representative from the Oregon Seed Association.
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Bulawayo24 News (press release) (blog)
Tobacco farmers should opt for other crops
On 14 October 2014 The NewsDay reported that the number of tobacco growers who registered for the 2015 agricultural season declined when ...
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Drought drives 42 per cent crash in crop production in Sri Lanka
An 11-month drought, considered by experts to be the worst in recent history, has forced sharp increases in food prices in Sri Lanka – and the worst ...
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The Express Tribune
Poor farmers vital for overcoming hunger
The increasing commercialisation of agriculture and cash-cropping have severely eroded the principle of subsistence farming. Agricultural production ...
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Project increases yields of leguminous crops
Increasing yields of leguminous crops is a critical component of reducing ... The project which is receiving technical support from the Ministry of Food ...
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www.worldbulletin.net
Drought threatens more than 500000 in Honduras -Red Cross
IFRC said some 571,710 people were affected by the drought in Honduras, which had left them in danger of hunger due to dying crops, higher food ...
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Crop Biotech Update
October 22, 2014

Wheat breeder Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram was awarded The World Food Prize during the World Food Day and the UN-FAO's International Year of Family Farming in Des Moines, Iowa. The award was given during the centennial year of its founder and Dr. Rajaram's mentor, Dr. Norman Borlaug.
Dr. Rajaram has developed more than 480 varieties of wheat, and his research led to a remarkable increase in world wheat production by more than 200 million tons. His crossing of winter and spring wheat varieties produced plants that have higher yields and dependability under a wide range of environments around the world. He also developed wheat varieties resistant to the rust disease.
As he accepted the award, Dr. Rajaram said, "This award honors the resilience and innovative spirit of farmers in the developing world and the national agricultural systems. Without their contributions, my research would not have been possible. The mission was – and the mission remains - to serve them."
Dr. Rajaram worked closely with Dr. Borlaug, succeeding him as head of the wheat breeding program at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico. Amb. Kenneth M. Quinn, President of The World Food Prize said, "Dr. Borlaug himself called Dr. Rajaram the greatest present-day wheat scientist in the world' and ‘a scientist of great vision." Dr. Rajaram is currently the Director of Resource Seeds International and a consultant to the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).
More details are available at: http://www.worldfoodprize.org/index.cfm/24667/33059/2014_world_food_prize_awarded_
to_dr_sanjaya_rajaram_at_iowa_state_capitol
.
On October 16, 2014, nations celebrated the World Food Day focusing on the theme Family Farming: Feeding the World, Caring the Earth. According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) report State of Food and Agriculture 2014 released on the same date, 9 out of 10 of the world's 570 million farms are operated by families. Family farms produce about 80 percent of the world's food. Thus, the family farm is the predominant form of agriculture and at the same time vital agent of change in attaining food security in alleviating hunger in the future.
At present, family farming faces three major challenges: need for more yield to meet the world's demand for food and better nutrition, environmental sustainability to protect the planet; and productivity growth and livelihood diversification to lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. According to FAO Director General Jose Graziano da Silva, all the challenges mean that family farmers must be protagonists of innovation. Thus, the report calls for the public sector, civil society groups, and the private sector to enhance innovation systems for agriculture. Agricultural innovation systems include all the institutions and actors that support farmers in developing and adopting better ways of working in today's increasingly complex world. Innovation capacity must be promoted at various levels, with incentives for farmers, researchers, advisory service providers and integrated value chains to interact and create networks and partnerships to share information.
Read the report at http://www.fao.org/publications/sofa/en/.
Section: BIC Updates
Seventeen agriculture officers, local government constituents, and farmers from municipalities of the top eggplant producing province of Pangasinan, Philippines expressed their appreciation of modern biotechnology after learning about its techniques, applications, and products during the Biotechnology 101: Seminar-Workshop and Study Visit on Biotechnology for Crop Improvement.  The seminar-workshop was held at the University of the Philippines Los Baños-Institute of Plant Breeding (UPLB-IPB)  on 15-17 October 2014. The highlight of the activity was the notable interest of participants in the current status of the commercialization of  Bt eggplant. The participants stated that most of the farmers in their respective areas are patiently waiting for the release of Bt eggplant seeds, and would like to benefit from the said technology.
The participants were briefed on medical biotechnology, global scenario on biotech crops, the science of genetic engineering, food and environmental safety, biosafety regulations in the country, the potential benefits of Bt eggplant, as well as presentations on the Philippine agri-biotech initiatives of the Department of Agriculture, the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) and the UPLB-National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.
Laboratory visits and demonstrations on tissue culture and molecular markers were also conducted at IPB. The activity was organized by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSPII), and Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture Biotechnology Information Center (SEARCA BIC).

For more information about biotechnology in the Philippines, visit http://www.bic.searca.org/.
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore (NTU Singapore) have discovered a new molecule which can join together chains of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. The new molecule was derived from a common medicinal plant found in Singapore and Southeast Asia, scientifically known as Clitoria ternatea, or Blue Butterfly Pea. The plant's blue flowers are used to make food coloring and are also commonly used as a traditional herb to enhance memory, as well as an anti-depressant and anti-stress agent.

The new molecule is named Butelase-1 after the plant's Malay name Bunga Telang. It acts as a ligase, joining longer chains of amino acids known as proteins or peptides together. Only three other known molecules have been discovered to perform this function, which is an important process in the development of new drugs. A key difference is that the new molecule can do the same process 10,000 times faster than the other three, without leaving any residue behind.
Lead scientist Professor James Tam said that the properties of the new molecule make it a very useful tool in protein biotechnology and the development of new peptide and protein therapeutics, including anti-cancer agents.
For more information, read the NTU news release at: http://media.ntu.edu.sg/NewsReleases/Pages/newsdetail.aspx?news=3e8147c0-1de3-44e3-aca3-c7892a9bd86e.
Sections
News from Around the World
Research Highlights
Beyond Crop Biotech
From the BICs


food crops
Daily update October 23, 2014


NEWS


BBC News
Chimps filmed raiding farms to find food
"It forces chimps to explore new food sources, like human crops," she told BBC News. "Raiding fields is extremely dangerous - chimps may be ...
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DAWN.com
Food insecurity looms over flood-hit districts of Punjab
Damage to crops and stored grain has the potential to create acute food ... of flood may have some negative impacts on the major rabi crop of wheat.
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Geek
This little potato could herald the beginning of the end for famine
When you hear stories about dwindling amounts of land available to grow food crops in third-world countries, the issue is not that they've somehow ...
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The Guardian
'Population growth far outpaces food supply' in conflict-ravaged Sahel
The Sahel's ability to produce food is not keeping pace with its growing ... the production of crops remained essentially unchanged, said researchers ...
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Farm Futures
New Imaging Technology Gives Researchers Better Look at Crop Roots
The research will advance improvement of food crops such as rice, maize, and beans by studying root systems that are essential to delivering nutrients ...
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Wall St. Cheat Sheet
3 Disheartening Truths About America's Commodity Crops
This fact is perhaps even more relevant when it comes to commodity crops — the staple foods we utilize everyday, even sometimes without realizing it.
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TakePart
Read About the Potential Food Crisis of Tomorrow in a Graphic Novel Today
Forget dry academic reports about reduced crop yields and drought—this comic makes ag's climate change problems more accessible and ...
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TheCropSite
Solar Subsidies Cut to Safeguard Farmland
... right to claim subsidies for fields filled with solar panels under new plans to ensure more agricultural land is dedicated to growing crops and food.
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Ten Reasons Why You Should Care What You Wear
Government regulatory agencies, prompted by large cotton farmers and the garment industry, falsely claim that cotton is not a “food crop,” in spite of ...
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food crops
Daily update October 22, 2014
NEWS

BBC News
EU pesticide bans 'could hit UK crops'
The EU's decision to ban the use of some pesticides could threaten UK crops, increase food prices and hit farmers' profits, a report has claimed.
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The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com
Five things to know about the new weedkiller, Enlist Duo, approved for Ohio crops
Weeds compete with food crops for nutrients in the soil. In order to control them, especially on vast farms, farmers started planting genetically modified ...
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GM crops: Giving truth a chance
The country is trying to promote GM food to expand its food supplies. ... A case against GM crops is pending in the Supreme Court but it is time such ...
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ODA: $2M in Specialty Crop block grants
Since the majority of Oregon's agricultural production comes from specialty crops, the increased allocation and ability to fund more projects comes as ...
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Radio Dabanga
Improved harvest expected in Sudan: UN food agency
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) reported that the staple food crops, millet and sorghum, of the next harvest period, which ...
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Manufacturing.net
Atlas may boost global crops, conservation
He said new computer systems in agricultural machinery now let farmers determine the precise amount of water needed to grow crops on their land ...
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Santa Fe New Mexican.com
Santa Fe startup developing fungus as natural pesticide for crops
Santa Fe startup developing fungus as natural pesticide for crops ... up billions of dollars of food crops, bringing economic disasters and famines to ...
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Penn State News
PlantVillage solves crop problems by democratizing science-based knowledge
With thousands of digital pages of information and more than 2,000 images, the library covers virtually every important food crop in the world.
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Enough With European Heirlooms—Check Out These Native American Crops Instead
A resurgence in indigenous farming and food could contribute to a healthier, more delicious future for tribal nations.
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Rice as a Cash Crop?
For rice farmers in the exporting nations like Thailand, the tripling of world rice prices in 2008 saw rice transform from a food crop to a cash crop.
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food crops
Daily update October 21, 2014


NEWS


Click Green
Government to axe solar farm subsidies in favour of biomass crops
Farmers will lose the right to claim subsidies for fields filled with solar panels under new Government plans to ensure more agricultural land is ...
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Farmers get look at cover crops
The cost is $30 per acre to plant cover crops, food plots, native grasses, grasses, small grains, and small legumes. The sprayer costs $10 per acre.
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The Korea Herald
[Michael Koch] Why Korea, and the world, must protect crop diversity
However, there are approximately 7,000 crop species in existence, and ... Founded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ...
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Bob Beyfuss: Fall food and critters
Usually the season following a bumper crop year for wild apple, hickory, oak, ... Last year's ample food supply has allowed many small mammals the ...
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Bowling Green Daily News
Building a new food system takes time & cooperation from all involved
Specialty crops don't beat tobacco or cash crops, including corn and .... to food pantry clients in addition to the crops the nonprofit's community garden ...
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Ag bill brings changes for state's farmers, farmers markets
Moving forward, farmers who grow eligible crops must choose between Price Loss Coverage or Agricultural Risk Coverage; the first pays farmers if ...
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Raxanreeb Online
SOMALIA: Hot, dry conditions causing crisis in the south west regions
In agropastoral areas, almost no crops were harvested in June/July. ... Additional humanitarian food assistance is needed between now and the start ...
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Independent Online
Ebola wave threatens food security
He said as world food demand increased, farmers were using larger crop areas. “Beginning in early 2000 crop area has increased as much as 10 ...
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“World Food Day promotes Agroecology not GE technology”
“Access to safe nourishing food is a basic human right,” said Claire ... Failures of modern crops overuse of pesticides, rising debt, emergence of super ...
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eco-business.com
Seaweed problem could provide biofuel solution
Biofuels are controversial because they are often produced from food crops or grown on farmland, but a common algae found in abundance around ...
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