Bangladesh champions GM crops
South Asian nation is world innovator of pest-resistant, nutritionally-fortified biotech crops BY STEVEN CERIER “Agricultural technology has been central in “making the country self-sufficient in food production,” says Bangladesh’s Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhurry. The country began adopting hybrid seeds in the mid-1990s, and in 2013 became the first nation to commercialise insect-resistant Bt brinjal (eggplant). Currently, […]
Sunshine statistics
Biotech crops known for their multiple green traits continue to see the light of day with a 110-fold increase in grown hectares worldwide since 1996 field. BEIJING: Biotech crops or GM crops surged to a new peak of 185.1 million hectares last year – a global area rebound from 2015, as farmers continue to adopt […]
Preserving soil, water quality at Muda and Ahning dams
BY DR DALJIT SINGH S/O KARAM SINGH SIK, KEDAH: Several Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Malaya (UM) researchers have embarked on a joint research with Muda Agriculture Development Authority (MADA) to monitor soil and water quality at Muda and Ahning dams. “Good water quality gives an assurance that water supply for both domestic and […]
Feeding Asia: Region needs to up its game
The FAO’s recent sobering report warned of the need to significantly increase investments in agriculture to meet the anticipated 50% increase in food demand by 2050. Asia as a net food and animal feed deficit region needs to up its game. PAUL TENG & CHRISTOPHER VAS comment. The latest report by the Food and Agriculture […]
From flask to field: How tiny microbes are revolutionising big agr
https://theconversation.com BY MATTHEW WALLENSTEIN, Associate Professor and Director, Innovation Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Colorado State University Walk into your typical U.S. or U.K. grocery store and feast your eyes on an amazing bounty of fresh and processed foods. In most industrialised countries, it’s hard to imagine that food production is one of the greatest challenges […]
Climate-smart rice key to farmer resilience, says IRRI head
Chennai,India: Stress-tolerant rice varieties can help make farmers more resilient against the increasingly destructive effects of climate change, said Matthew Morell, director general of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Delivering the Millenium Lecture at the M.S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in Chennai on 10 February, Morell described rice as “the engine of food security,” […]
Food security looks very different depending on where you are sitting
In 1974, the World Food Conference declared that: “Every man, woman and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop their physical and mental faculties.” The conference set as its goal the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition within a decade. Two decades later, in 1996, the […]
On the trail of the mushroom scientist
At the age of 68, Professor Vikineswary Sabaratnam, the country’s leading mushroom expert is not showing any signs of slowing down. Whether it is conducting research, supervising post graduate students, teaching, helping farmers to grow mushrooms, or simply creating awareness on the benefits of mushrooms to the general public, Vikineswary tells The Petri Dish Editor-in-Chief, […]
Lettuce in February: The hidden cost of buying fresh vegetables all year round
Beginning with this issue we will be publishing articles on food security from THE CONVERSATION. We find these articles that come with academic rigour, but journalistic air appropriate to be presented as a series. We believe this series will bring awareness on the subject which is a critical global issue. We are indebted to THE […]
Genetically modified foods: Nothing to fear
GENETICALLY modified crops (GMOs or genetically modified organisms) have existed for thousands of years, but now that we know how to splice genes in the laboratory, there is concern over food safety. Much of that concern is unwarranted. Nevertheless, there are campaigns to require product labeling when some foodstuffs contain GMOs. The food industry is […]