Over the weekend, NASA scientists sounded an alarm over the fact that “the planet had its biggest temperature spike in modern history”: rising 1.35 degrees Celsius above the 1951-1980 average, following a steady trajectory of atmospheric warming, exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon. In the shadow of this alarming development, Lancet …
In celebration of yesterday’s International Women’s Day 2016, we begin with a set of stories focused on women’s roles in agriculture in the face of climate change and food insecurity. A report called “Seeds of adaptation: climate change, crop diversification, and the role of women farmers” notes that “Around the world, …
This week, scientists, researchers, and members of the private sector from around the globe met in Arusha, Tanzania, to share research and information on whitefly. The Second International Whitefly Symposium addressed this serious agricultural pest, which destroys crops by directly feeding on plants as well as transmitting viruses – including Cassava …
In a week in which we have been assured that we will need all our tools to feed the world in the face of climate change and a booming global population, and that agriculture could drive a new era of economic growth for Africa but only if it focuses on the small, family-run …
In a week that saw the announcement that Burkina Faso is phasing out Bt cotton, we highlight a story arguing that we are using the planet’s resources unsustainably to produce the food we need and that, without genetic modification, we will neither be able to move towards sustainability nor feed the ever …
We start this week’s highlights in Asia, where China has made a bid to acquire Sygenta. A feature in MIT Technology review says that behind the move is China’s food-security crisis: “[it] must secure its food supply and feed 1.5 billion people despite a shortage of viable farmland…. technology—in particular genetically …
This week, we start with a trio of articles looking at how gene editing technologies like CRISPR may end up being judged in the GM debate. In a commentary in Nature Genetics, researchers have made the case that gene-editing might lead to crops that could be produced conventionally, since the …
This week, we’ve uploaded a new feature article to B4FA.org: “CRISPR technology: from nowhere to everywhere” by B4FA research associate Claudia Caneles. This primer on CRISPR – widely acknowledged as a biotech game-changer – explains how it works, how it’s applied, and how its use is being regulated. It will …
Sadly, this week was dominated by news of impending food crisis in drought-stricken countries in Africa, a consequence of the El Niño weather phenomenon. “Millions risk starvation as drought in Africa threatens humanitarian crisis” provides an overview, stating, “According to the Famine Early Warnings System network, much of East Africa, …
Kenya is anticipating a shift in its biotech regulation soon, with Kenyan regulators recommending lifting the ban on genetically modified crops, including Bt maize and cotton, and an announcement that the National Biosafety Authority will make a decision by the end of January 2016 on whether to grant scientists permission …
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