AgJournal   |  Home   |  Developing countries, developing technology	September 8, 2010

Developing countries, developing technology Outside of the United States and Europe, nations seek a middle ground on biotechnology. United Nations calls for more public investment in biotechnology Crops genetically modified for greater resistance to disease and drought could significantly reduce malnutrition around the world, according to a new report from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). But far greater public investment in research and development is needed to ensure that biotechnology meets the agricultural needs of the world's poor. Conference calls for international cooperation An international conference on agricultural biotechnology in Bangkok July 10 to 12, 2001, concluded with a call for more international cooperation and publicly funded scientific research into the risks and benefits of genetically modified (GM) foods and crops. Developing countries caught in the middle Developing countries are caught between the positions of the United States, the world's leading producer of genetically modified crops, and Europe, the stronghold of opposition to such crops, according to a research report authored by Philipp Aerni of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Syngenta opens plant in Nantong In April 2001, Syngenta opened a new state-of-the-art plant in Nantong, China, to manufacture Gramoxone for China and other Asian and Pacific countries. In July, Syngenta announced its intention to purchase a further 50 percent of shares in Tomono Agrica of Japan bringing its shareholding to 100 percent and strengthen Syngenta's operations in the Japanese market. Kenyans harvest transgenic sweet potatoes The first crop of genetically modified sweet potatoes has been harvested in Kenya, one of the few African countries that have developed a significant capacity for agricultural biotechnology research and development. Bt cotton trials may start soon, according to a U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) report. Tree bark yields anti-HIV compound A plant-derived compound from Samoa may prove effective in treating AIDS. Under a landmark profit-sharing agreement, 20 percent of any commercial revenues from the product will be returned to the people of Samoa. Clearing fields with gamma rays Planting peanuts in the desert Agricultural researchers working in the desert nation of Mali predict that within five years thousands of farmers will be growing new varieties of peanut s - known in Mali as groundnuts - and setting the stage for a dramatic increase in production. Syrian grain inspection crisis defused Syria has purchased 245,000 metric tons (9.65 million bushels) of U.S. corn so far this marketing year, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) reports. Last year, Syria abruptly halted the discharge of several vessels of U.S. corn because samples taken upon arrival indicated high levels of blue mold. But additional training of Syrian inspectors defused the crisis. Vietnamese help farmers of Senegal Relying on good humor and much sign language, Vietnamese agricultural experts are introducing simple techniques for increasing agricultural productivity to the African nation of Senegal. Child labor alleged in Ecuador Date palms may hold back the desert The West African country of Burkina Faso is encouraging farmers to grow date palms to stop the advance of the desert. At least 200 farmers are to be trained to plant and maintain the trees under a program supported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Crop sales fund food projects U.S. farmers can donate their time, equipment and experience to growing crops on donated land for the Foods Resource Bank, a Kalamazoo, MI-based organization that coordinates the efforts of faith-based, civic, farming, urban and business communities. The crop that results - usually corn, soybeans or wheat - is sold on the U.S. market, and cash proceeds are used to implement food security and poverty eradication programs worldwide. IPM could reduce pesticide exposure in Ecuador An international team of scientists working in the highlands of Ecuador has found that deaths and illness from human exposure to insecticides is nearly 20 times higher than previously estimated. Based on a new policy analysis tool known as the Tradeoff Analysis Model, scientists at the Peruvian-based International Potato Center, say the best way to improve health, while preserving farmers' income, is a combination of integrated pest management, or IPM, and education about the dangers of pesticides. Seed company poised to market Bollgard technology With full ownership of D&M International and its joint ventures in Argentina and China, Delta and Pine Land Company (D&PL) is poised to commercialize Monsanto's Bollgard gene technology in those countries. The D&M International joint venture in Brazil also has exclusive rights to Bollgard gene technology within Brazil, although government approval has not yet been received to allow for commercial sale. Agroforestry may alleviate Malawi food crisis As Malawi, a nation of 10 million people, faces its most serious food crisis in recent memory, government officials are encouraging farmers to plant trees as part of a long-term effort to improve soil fertility and increase food supplies. Date palms do well in Namibia The impressive sight of 10,000 date palms, drip-irrigated and flourishing in the sandy soil of southern Namibia, proves that the country is well on the way to mastering the cultivation of a fruit more commonly associated with the northern end of the continent. Kenyans living on the edge The National Science Foundation has awarded $1.67 million to Cornell University over five years to examine the complex relationship between Kenyan small farmers, their communities and the land on which they depend for their livelihoods. The Kenya Agriculture Research Institute and the International Center for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) in Nairobi also are participating in the study. "We have people living at the edge," says Alice Pell, Cornell professor of animal science and the principal investigator on the project. Livestock deaths prompt appeal The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has launched a new appeal for US $1.9 million in support of six emergency projects in Ethiopia, where a large number of livestock deaths and the migration of people in search of water and pasture are being reported. Seed banks help Malawi farmers More than 13 million people in seven southern Africa are facing famine, and the numbers are expected to rise. The food supply will be short through the next harvest, in March. In Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, CARE is delivering food and working with communities on longer-term solutions, such as planting drought-tolerant crops like cassava; building dams toe crops; and helping women form groups to pool money and grant one another loans to buy maize (corn), fertilizer and livestock. Food aid intended to protect seed Monsoon fails to offset rice yield losses Analysis of rainfall distribution during India's 2002 monsoon reveals the kharif rice crop in mixed condition, according to the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service. The rice-producing states of Orissa, West Bengal, and eastern Bihar received stabilizing rainfall amounts. These localized rains were not sufficient to offset yield losses in the major producing areas, such as Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar. Flexible-fuel cars soon to be introduced in Brazil Drivers in the U.S. have been able to buy flexible-fuel vehicles capable of running on higher percentages of ethanol and gasoline for years, and in less than a year Brazilian drivers will have the same option, according to the Illinois Corn Growers Association. Farmer-owned cooperative to feed children Land O'Lakes cooperative will increase its participation in the Global Food for Education Initiative (GFEI) and aid efforts authorized under Section 416b of the Agricultural Act of 1949 to provide at-school meals for more than 1.2 million children around the world. Relief group outlines needed action Save the Children, a leading global development and relief organization, is urging the Bush Administration and U.S. Congress to prioritize three strategic areas in fiscal-year 2003 and 2004 foreign assistance budgets to help prevent food shortages in the developing world. Investment in agriculture declines Growth of the agricultural sector is essential to reducing hunger and poverty, yet official development assistance to agriculture declined by an alarming 48 percent between 1990 and 1999, according to a new report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). As a result progress in reducing world hunger has virtually come to a halt. Countries where hunger and poverty are widespread invest significantly less in their agriculture than those with less hunger, according to the report. Actual public expenditures for agriculture and rural development in the developing world do not reflect the importance of the sector to their national economies. FAO estimates, that there were around 840 million undernourished people from 1998 to 2000, 799 million in the developing countries, 30 million in the countries in transition and 11 million in the industrialized countries. FAO claims that unless trends are sharply reversed, the world will be very far from reaching the World Food Summit 1996 goal, to reduce the number of hungry by half by 2015. "We do not have the excuse that we cannot grow enough food or that we do not know enough about how to eliminate hunger. What remains to be proven is that we care enough, that our expressions of concern in international fora are more than rhetoric, that we will no longer accept and ignore the suffering of 840 million hungry people or the daily death toll of 25,000 victims of hunger and poverty," says Dr. Jacques Diouf, FAO director-general. Conflict is one of the most common causes of food insecurity. War and civil strife were the major causes in 15 countries that suffered exceptional food emergencies in 2001 and early 2002. Conflict in sub-Saharan Africa resulted in losses of almost US $52 billion in agricultural output between 1970 and 1997, a figure equivalent to 75 percent of all official development assistance received by the conflict-affected countries. Estimated losses in agricultural output for all developing countries averaged US$4.3 billion per year, enough to have raised the food intake of 330 million hungry people to minimum required levels. The report emphasized that secure access to land is one of the key factors for food security. It noted that severe poverty and hunger are concentrated among the landless or farmers whose plots are too small to provide for their needs. More than 30 percent of the rural poor in Latin America and the Caribbean are landless. Improving access to land can have a major impact on reducing poverty and hunger. Developing countries where land was more equally distributed have made more rapid progress in reducing the prevalence of hunger. On-line auction raises money for developing countries An on-line celebrity clothing auction raised $3,950 for Heifer International - enough to buy 16 water buffalo. Each animal can provide a family in a developing country with high-protein milk, manure to fertilize crops and natural tractor power to plow fields. Southern Africa needs seeds now Farmers in southern Africa need seed and other agricultural inputs immediately in order to avert a food crisis, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP). Central American droughts hurt families The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) wants to raise $66 million to assist hundreds of thousands of Central Americans hard-hit by recent droughts and crop failures. U.S. pledges aid to Central American agriculture Adolfo Franco, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, has reaffirmed the Bush administration's commitment to help Central America overcome present food security challenges, while also focusing on helping the countries of the region stabilize their economies. Increased production not enough Increased agricultural production is not sufficient to combat hunger in developing countries, says Dr. Jacques Diouf, director-general of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Creating gainful employment opportunities and better access to markets for agricultural products are also needed. Food labels could save lives Americans take food quality control and accurate product labels for granted, but in Africa the lack of such a system costs the lives of children. World Bank economist blasts farm policies Recent decisions to delay the reform of Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy and to increase agricultural subsidies in the United States are egregious examples of rich countries opting to underwrite the status quo rather than using their wealth to support growth and facilitate development, according to Nicholas Stern, chief economist for the World Bank. Hunger leading cause of disease Lack of food for children is a leading cause of death and disease, according to new report from the World Health Organization. Rain ruins Angolan roads A ceasefire agreement between the government and rebel forces in April 2002 brought peace to Angola after nearly 30 years of war. But food relief efforts and internal trade are hindered by the consequences of war on Angola's infrastructure. Roads are in very poor conditions, bridges are in ruins, and minefields prevent the creation of alternative routes and impede farmers to work on their fields. Emergency aid approved for southern Africa The U.S. government has promised a consortium of three humanitarian organizations one of the largest emergency aid grants in history to help address the needs of people starving in southern Africa. The $100 million grant to World Vision, CARE, and Catholic Relief Services will go toward emergency and supplementary food distributions, agricultural support and development training in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the three countries hardest hit by the food shortage. El Salvador buys rice solubles El Salvador's Ministry of Education in San Salvador has purchased 196,000 pounds of RiceX solubles for use in a school nutrition program. The agreement, which follows a similar program completed in Guatemala in 2001, will result in revenues of approximately $1 million for RiceX, a leading manufacturer of functional food ingredients derived from rice bran. Thailand could become market for U.S. corn Thailand has a growing poultry industry and could potentially become a market for U.S. corn, however shipping costs and biotechnology are limiting factors, according to Steve Pigg, president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association. Bt cotton benefits developing countries A new study by confirms that in 2001, global area of genetically modified (GM) crops was 52.6 million hectares or 130 million acres, representing an increase of 8.4 million hectares, or 20 million acres over 2000. The GM crop most widely grown by small, resource-poor farmers in developing countries is Bt cotton. Joint venture to supply seed for China Pioneer Hi-Bred International has formed a joint venture with one of China's largest seed companies, Denghai Seed Group, to produce top-performing corn seed for Chinese farmers. Argentine peanut acreage shifts to soybeans Argentina’s 2002/2003 peanut area is expected to decline about 30 percent from last year’s level. Competition from more profitable crops, such as soybeans, has led to the area decline, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). African crisis worsens The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced that 40 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of severe food shortages and that the region's humanitarian crisis is worsening. The agency pointed to an urgent need to speed commercial food imports and food aid distribution. Thirty-nine nations threatened with food shortages The number of countries facing severe food emergencies worldwide stands at 39. Serious food shortages have emerged in eastern Africa, and the food situation remains critical in southern Africa, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Rains benefit northwestern Africa Widespread, beneficial rain during autumn has greatly improved winter grain conditions for northwestern Africa, according to the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service. Cyclone Zoe threatens Solomon Islands Cyclone Zoe, a category 5 tropical storm that struck the Solomon Islands between December 28 and 30, 2002, causing widespread damage on the islands of Tikopia and Anuta. The large majority of trees on the islands have been blown over or shredded, and extensive damage to housing, crops and gardens has also been reported.

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