Ghana’s minister for food and agriculture supports ag biotech for battling hunger

Mr. Kwesi Ahwoi, Minister for Food and Agriculture in Ghana, said Africa should use agricultural biotechnology, like GM crops, to battle hunger and malnutrition, while ensuring environmental sustainability during a conference in Accra, All Africa reports.

“Climate change can significantly reverse the little progress that has been made towards poverty reduction and food security unless Ghana increases the application of science and technology, including biotechnology to improve agricultural productivity,” he emphasized.

Ghana’s government is under pressure to allow GM crops that will increase food production to feed the country’s rising population and to address the challenges of increasing water and land scarcity. Read more.

Indian newspaper says GM crop research could improve local crop production

According to Commodity Online, the Indian government should support agricultural research for the development of high-yielding genetically modified (GM) crop varieties.

The article references Argentina’s agricultural success from adopting GM crops. “It was the adoption of genetically modified (GM) soybean seeds, no till planting that helped raised production.” Read more.

Scientists in Ghana say biotechnology will contribute to socio-economic development

Ghana’s government pointed out support from local scientists who said biotechnology could help reduce poverty and improve the country’s food security at the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB) conference in Accra. Former Ghanaian president, John Agyekum Kufuor, won the World Food Prize this year for implementing initiatives that included technology solutions to alleviate hunger in Ghana.

Dr. Yaa Difie Osei, Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, said, “This approach will enable Ghana enhanced nutritional values and increase the life shelves of produce to sustain socio-economic development of the country.” Read more.

China supports GM corn to boost domestic corn output

According to All About Feed, China is testing genetically modified (GM) corn technology to boost domestic production, which has failed to meet the demand over the past two years. “We have approved one type of GMO strain and we’re testing to see if they can be applied to boost production,” said Chen Xiaohua, a vice agricultural minister. He added, “GMO technology is the strategic choice of the country in the future.” Read more.

Global food production on agenda at global conference

The Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference (ABIC) begins this Sunday in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and will focus on the challenges facing global food production. Five keynote and 66 expert speakers in three areas — energy, health and sustainability — will present during the four-day conference, which will have about 1,000 international delegates.

Keynote speakers include Julian Cribb, who authored the recently released “The Coming Famine: Risks and Solutions for Global Food Security,” and Prem Warrior, senior project manager with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Development Program.

Biofortification of staple foods still necessary

According to a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute, the biofortification of staple foods is still relevant in poor countries, despite gains in income and urbanization. The authors of the study, titled Integrated Economic Modeling of Global and Regional Micronutrient Security, suggest that low-income rural populations will continue to derive much of their diets from staple foods, such as cereal grains in South Asia, and roots and tubers in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Kofi Annan awarded Norman E. Borlaug medallion

The World Food Prize Foundation this week awarded the Norman E. Borlaug medallion to Kofi Annan during the first-ever African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Annan’s home country of Ghana. According to the World Food Prize press release, Annan was selected for the award based on his “international leadership as Secretary-General of the United Nations and as chairman of the board for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. In both roles, Annan has brought significant attention to the issue of global food security, most notably in establishing the UN Millennium Development Goals during his time at the United Nations.”

Test your biotech knowledge!

This week, we’re asking our readers to take CBI’s quiz to see how much you know about ag biotech and to provide feedback on the information you want to see from CBI. All quiz-takers will be eligible to win a copy of the acclaimed book Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food! Now, for other exciting ag biotech news…

Biotechnology is essential to African food security

At a roundtable discussion, Ghanaian biosafety and biotechnology expert Prof. Walter Alhassan stressed that agricultural biotechnology is crucial to his country dealing effectively with food security issues and the impact of a changing and less predictable climate. He added that “after 14 years of commercial use of genetic modification (GM) crops, no scientifically proved risk has been confirmed due to GM application.” Ghana’s National Biosafety Committee will soon be considering applications to permit field trials of protein-enhanced sweet potatoes and insect protected cowpea in the country. Learn more.

Recent anti-biotech ruling on GM beet sugar harms farmers and consumers

A recent federal district court ruling that limits the application of genetically modified beet sugar will have a negative impact on the price and availability of sugar in America, according to a Forbes article. Genetically modified beet sugar accounts for 95 percent of all sugar grown in the United States. The court ruling, which requires a more intensive environmental impact study by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (the agency that already approved the GM beets in 2005) will result in uncertainty in the sugar marketplace, hurting farmers and consumers. Learn more.