Partnership formed to develop drought-tolerant maize in Africa
30 April 2008
The African Agricultural Technology Foundation enters a public-private partnership to develop drought-tolerant maize varieties in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa. Video by AATF.

USDA approves field releases of genetically modified crops
30 April 2008
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) finds no significant environmental or human impact for the proposed field releases of genetically modified safflower and a Nicotiana hybrid.

Public-private partnership to develop hybrid rice
28 April 2008
Hybrid technology could ease inflationary pressures on the price of rice.

NCGA applauds maize genome research
28 April 2008
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) praises the development of a draft sequence of the maize genome, the first mapping of the crop’s genome in the world.

Gene that boosts yield on marginal soils
24 April 2008
Wageningen University and Research Centre's discovery of genes that radically enhance seed production in rice and Arabidopis spp in dry and saline conditions might lead to the development of stress-tolerant plants.

Australian application for controlled release of GM torenia
24 April 2008
The Australian company, Florigene, applies for an Australian application for the limited and controlled release of  the ornamental flowering plant, torenia, genetically modified for enhanced phosphate uptake.

Origin’s first GM phytase maize
21 April 2008
Chinese company Origin obtains a licence to the world‘s first genetically modified phytase maize. It is expected to be on of the first GM maize lines to be approved and commercially sold in China’s domestic market.

Identifying GM crop benefits to Australian agriculture
21 April 2008
Genetically modified oilseed and wheat crops could provide significant benefits to Australian agriculture, if adopted, according to a new report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE).

Scientists examine pea genetic code
16 April 2008
Scientists from the INRA Plant Genomics Research Unit at Evry and the INRA Grain Legumes Research Unit at Bretenières create a genetic reference collection for pea mutants as part of the European Grain Legumes Integrated Project.

Sugar cane to ethanol conversion project receives $866,000 federal grant
16 April 2008
Fredy Altpeter, assistant professor of agronomy at the University of Florida, receives a $866,576 grant for his GM sugar cane project that aims to improve the output of fermentable sugar for conversion to ethanol.

Philippine government to test vitamin A rich GM rice
14 April 2008
The first testing of the rice is expected to commence in September.

Hairy vetch mulch activates genes for better growth in tomatoes
14 April 2008
Research has shown that hairy vetch mulch activates, in regular tomato plants, similar metabolic pathways and genes that are activated in biotech versions. The insertion of the ySAMdc genes enables stronger tomato plants and more nutritious and tasty fruit.

Joint research into genetic mapping of pearl millet
11 April 2008
The IGER roject could lead to the development of drought-tolerant pearl millet.

GM algae offers future oil possibilities
11 April 2008
US company Solazyme introduces the first-ever algae-derived biodiesel fuel.

DuPont and Arcadia collaboration on nitrogen use efficiency in maize
9 April 2008
DuPont and US-based agricultural biotechnology company Arcadia Biosciences (Davis) forms a research and commercial alliance to develop nitrogen use efficiency in maize. The undisclosed agreement stipulates that DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred has exclusive rights to Arcadia’s proprietary nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) technology for maize.

UK research grant to secure food in the developing world
8 April 2008
The UK Sustainable Agriculture Research for International Development (SARID) invests £7million ($14.1 million) for new research in a bid to develop agriculture in developing countries. Videos by IRRI.

NEPAD and MSU gain $1.5 million grant for African biosafety
4 April 2008
Video: Bill Gates pledges support for the African agriculture.

Gene discovery opens doorways into developing drought-tolerant crops
4 April 2008
An alliance between the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences from the University of Helsinki, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and a team from Japan, has led to the discovery of a key gene crucial to the regulation of carbon dioxide uptake in photosynthesis and water evaporation in plants.

FAO email conference calls for focus on third world drought
1 April 2008
Biotechnology could help agriculture cope with water scarcity.

Cellectis sues Precision BioSciences for patent infringement
1 April 2008
The French biotechnology company Cellectis files a patent infringement lawsuit against US-based company Precision Biosciences for infringing two Cellectis patents relating to its proprietary meganuclease recombination systems.

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