The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
A new report released by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) says Africa must embrace agricultural innovations to better compete in an evolving global bio-economy The report, entitled "GM Agriculture Technologies for Africa," analyzes the benefits and constraints of adopting genetically modified (GM) …
The Chinese government is trying to convince Zhou Guangxiu that the corn in the congee she wants to feed her son is safe. That may not be easy. Zhou, the owner of a recycling business in the northeast coastal city of Weihai, said one source of her concern was an …
New Delhi: October 9, 2014: In the latest development on the raging debate around open trials of the controversial Genetically Modified (GM) crops in India, the Gujarat state govt communicated formally that No Objection Certificate (NOC), will not be given for any GM food crops in the state. The NOC …
A majority of US packaged foods labeled as “natural” and tested by Consumer Reports actually contained a substantial level of genetically modified ingredients, according to a report issued Tuesday by the non-profit product testing group. Consumers are being misled by the “natural” label, said Urvashi Rangan, executive director of Consumer …
The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is looking at whether technology based on genetically modified organisms (GMO) could improve four so-called economic crops. The government is looking at ways to develop maize, cassava, palm and sugar cane. GM technology is considered "an option" for increasing yields, controlling costs, and cutting …
Reports show that traditional breeding techniques are years ahead of GM technologies in developing crops to withstand drought and poor soils, writes Lawrence Woodward. Yet GM advocates are sticking rigidly to their script even as the evidence mounds against them. Since its launch in 2010, the Improved Maize for African …
The promise that genetically modified crops can “feed the world” is largely used by the biotechnology industry to encourage widespread acceptance of this controversial technology, but it is disconnected from the complex reality of world hunger and the limitations of GM crops themselves. This report challenges the assertion made by …
Adoption and Uptake Pathways of GM/Biotech Crops by Small-scale, Resource-poor Farmers in China, India, and the Philippines shows how modern biotechnology has transformed farming into a profession that harvests agronomic and socio-cultural benefits beyond promise. It embodies the stories of how biotech crops, particularly Bt cotton in China and India …
China's government has kicked off a media campaign in support of genetically modified crops, as it battles a wave of negative publicity over a technology it hopes will play a major role in boosting its food security. The agriculture ministry earlier this week announced it would try to educate the …
Global seed technology giant Monsanto said on Monday it has launched a global center in Mexico for developing new hybrid and genetically modified strains of corn, part of the company's push to boost output of the planet's most widely produced grain. The center, based in Tlajomulco de Zuniga on the …
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association and 11 others organisations on Sunday sent a joint letter to the Ministry of Environment and Forest demanding cancellation of its gazette that permitted cultivation of Bt brinjal in the country. The organisations also sent a similar letter to the agriculture ministry and Bangladesh Agriculture Research …
Agricultural biotechnology has been used to address constraints in agriculture and has the potential to make a major contribution to the overall goal of sustainable intensification. The adoption of agricultural biotechnology, and specifically genetically modified (GM) crops, by many African countries has been quite limited to date, however. To further …
The plant enzyme Rubisco is the main enzyme converting atmospheric carbon dioxide into biological compounds, however, this enzymatic process is inefficient in vascular plants; this study demonstrates that tobacco plants can be engineered to fix carbon with a faster cyanobacterial Rubisco, thus potentially improving plant photosynthesis.
Irresponsible business practices can have a disproportionate impact on indigenous communities, many of which continue to suffer from political and economic marginalization. This report highlights some of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks businesses face in their encounters with indigenous communities. This report looks at six countries where indigenous …
A private seed company is preparing to market three genetically modified Bt brinjal seeds ignoring protests that there had been no biosafety tests of the transgenic crop. Officials of agriculture ministry said that preparations were afoot for the commercial release of at least three more Bt brinjal seed varieties through …
The Agriculture Department has approved the commercial planting of corn and soybeans genetically engineered to survive being sprayed by the herbicide known as 2,4-D, according to documents it posted on a federal regulatory website on Wednesday. Some corn and soybean growers have been pushing for approval, saying the new crops …
A second company has sued Syngenta AG over sales of genetically modified corn seed not approved by China, raising the stakes for the Swiss-based seed maker by including byproducts used for animal feed in its complaint and seeking class-action status. Trans Coastal Supply Co, a major exporter of livestock feed …
The weekly digest of important reports, research, policy documents, regulations, studies, court cases, protests, conflicts, initiatives, photos, data, statistics, infographics, presentations on the India Environment Portal, 31 August 2014 - 06 September 2014.
Environment minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday said the government will take a call on allowing field trials of GM crops only after the Supreme Court gives its decision. The apex court has fixed September 16 as next hearing for the public interest litigation filed in 2005 by activist Aruna Rodrigues …
Farmers, who were given Bt brinjal saplings, on Sunday demanded compensation for huge losses they incurred cultivating the genetically modified crop. At a press conference at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity, they alleged that they were ‘fooled’ and used as ‘guinea pig’ for the cultivation of the genetically modified Bt brinjal by …
