The 2023 Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor, a flagship publication of AKADEMIYA2063 and the International Food Policy Research Institute, provides an overview of trade in agriculture in Africa, including analysis of short- and long-term trends and drivers behind Africa’s global trade, intra-African trade, and trade within Africa’s regional economic communities. The …
the recent study conducted by China's Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences and global environmental group Greenpeace, which claimed that Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton causes damage to the environment, has no takers in the country. While Chinese biotechnology researchers have unanimously rejected most of the views expressed in the report, some …
There is disappointment down under over the us farm bill which has recently become a law. The us bill will provide new subsidies for domestic farmers over the next decade. It raises subsidy rates for soyabean, wheat, corn, cotton and barley. Australian trade minister Mark Vaile says that a dithering …
Brazil is set to challenge the controversial us farm subsidy programme. It is likely to file a case with the World Trade Organisation (wto) regarding the farm bill that would deprive the Brazilian soyabean and cotton farmers of more than us $1.5 billion a year in exports while boosting annual …
Trespassers moved: The glory of Dal lake is being revived. Thirteen hotels situated in the lake area are being shifted to Humhama near the Srinagar airport. The land to be allotted to hotel owners has been identified. Tree slaughter: Over 850 huge and old trees along the 8-kilometer long stretch …
Two things happened on March 26, 2002, when the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (geac) cleared the commercial cultivation of Bt cotton. Firstly, the event ushered in the era of gm (genetically modified) crops in India. Secondly, it sparked off a nationwide debate. Cotton seeds are modified genetically to contain a …
It all began with an article in Nature last September, reporting on the findings of Mexico's ministry of environment that extensive genetically modified (GM) maize contamination had been found in farmers' varieties in two states. In November, a peer-reviewed article, also in Nature , by researcher Ignacio Chapela and graduate …
1995 Permission granted to import 100 grammes of Coker 312, a tetraploid variety of cotton cultivated in the US 1996 Coker 312 seed imported and greenhouse trials conducted 1996 First field trial on a small plot 1997-98 Limited field trials at five sites 1998 Allergenic studies done on ruminants 1999 …
PUSHPA M BHARGAVA Former director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology Manipulating research is not a new phenomenon. Earlier, the reason for manoeuvring the results of scientific research was professional rivalry. But for the last four decades, it has been economic gain and power, which could be personal, corporate or …
probing the cotton crop failure in north Tamil Nadu during the last crop season, the central team has laid the blame on intensified production technologies that multiplied the pest problems in cotton. The team, which submitted its report to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (icar) , says that at …
• India's DNA scientists have initiated a project to clone the Indian cheetah by using the genes of its Iranian cousin. Scientists from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad will assist these DNA scientists to complete the project within five years. • Twelve persons were taken …
Clive James, president of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (isaaa), says that Argentine crop area planted with genetically modified (gm) seeds will rise 1.5 million hectares to 11.44 million hectares in the 2001-02 season. Argentina is the second largest user of gm products. The area planted …
most commonwealth developing countries will witness a drop of up to 30 per cent in their crop yield by 2050 due to global warming. India and Pakistan may see a drastic decline of 20-30 per cent in their crop production, affecting more than one billion people. In Africa, about 350 …
in an apparent knee-jerk reaction to the farmers' demand to cultivate Bt cotton, the Union government plans to commercialise several genetically modified crops by the end of 2002. The government can meet this deadline only if it flouts its own procedures. Manju Sharma, secretary in the department of biotechnology, has …
A Rs 2-million project to develop an environment-friendly sprayer to combat insecticides in cotton crops has been launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST). Under the project, an adjustable height boom sprayer for cotton crop will be manufactured by the Pakistan Science Foundation. The execution, operation and maintenance …
Despite the absence of commercial approval for genetically engineered Bt cotton in any Asian country outside China, it is spreading fast. Weak or non-existent biosafety legislation and a lack of government concern mean that Bt cotton is finding its way into farmers' fields by deception and default. This article summarises …
The Union government and the Gujarat government are at loggerheads over the damage control exercises to deal with the illegal cultivation of transgenic Bt cotton in the fields of Gujarat. The Union government has asked the Gujarat state government to take into custody all transgenic lint that has entered the …
The entire transgenic cotton episode has exposed the weak underbelly of the government. Dragging its feet on a crucial issue has now landed the authorities in an inextricable mess. And has brought the world crashing around the poor farmers. It simply shows that not only can the powers that be …
