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Agriculture & Environment: Agri-biotech

Opinions

Here is a list of the latest articles

Investigación en biocombustibles

Bioeconomy’s role in the developing world is at a crossroads

Bioeconomy opens up development opportunities for Latin America, but it also involves several risks, says Federico Vasen.

7 May 2013 | ES

Rural India left out of S&T system

Scientific research in India needs to integrate better with rural development issues, say Rajeswari S. Raina and Kasturi Mandal.

16 November 2012 | EN

Rice farmer

Foresight studies: shaping the future for food security

The world's food security depends on the quality of the forward-looking agricultural studies we are carrying out today, says Mark Holderness.

2 November 2012 | EN | ES

Farmer in Potato Park, Peru

Making the Nagoya Protocol work at the community level

Two safeguards for communities' rights to resources can help implement the Nagoya Protocol, argues biodiversity specialist Krystyna Swiderska.

3 July 2012 | EN | ES

Asia–Pacific Analysis: Plan for growth in biotech crops

South-East Asian nations should follow the Philippines down the path to biotech crops for food security, argues Crispin Maslog.

27 June 2012 | EN

'Algal biofuels are no energy panacea'

Algal biofuels, like crops, demand land, water, fertilisers, pesticides and inputs that are costly for India, says Hoysall Chanakya.

11 June 2012 | EN

Children near Kunsu, Ghana

How to create resilient agriculture

Durable food security and agricultural growth depend on development strategies with resilience built in from the start, says Gordon Conway.

21 March 2012 | EN

Asia–Pacific Analysis: Launching a second Green Revolution

Feeding South-East Asia's rapidly growing population requires a second Green Revolution, says Crispin Maslog.

23 February 2012 | EN | 中文

Workshop on insect-resistant maize, Kenya

How to engage with farmers over GM crops

Farmers are more likely to use GM crops if they are involved in crop development in the right way, say Obidimma Ezezika and Justin Mabeya.

22 February 2012 | EN | FR

Urban farmer, Mali

Africa needs new organisations that support innovation

The scientific community should create new intergovernmental organisations that promote innovative science in Africa, says Calestous Juma.

Source: Science

13 December 2011 | EN

Smallholder farmer in Ethiopia

We have the tools to prevent another famine in Africa

Success stories show that food crises can be controlled with the right tools and agricultural policies, says Sam Dryden.

Source: The Globe and Mail

4 October 2011 | EN

Cassava

How to feed the world without destroying the planet

Combined strategies are needed to meet the world's rising demands for food without further damage to biodiversity, says Jason Clay.

Source: Nature

28 July 2011 | EN | 中文

Wheat showing stem rust symptoms

Fight against wheat rust needs sustained investment

Developing countries need help with crop surveillance and the development of strains resistant to wheat rust, say agricultural research leaders.

5 May 2011 | EN | 中文

Cassava root

Nigeria must press ahead with GM crops

Nigeria must pass a biosafety law so the country's farmers can reap the benefits of GM technology, says Ademola A. Adenle.

27 April 2011 | EN | FR

Plant biotech research from Flickr/CIAT by Neil Palmer

Farming in cities could help feed the world

With traditional food production under threat from climate change, we should switch from agriculture to cell culture, says Lucía Atehortúa.

2 December 2010 | EN | ES | 中文

Sorghum farmer in Burkina Faso

Drought-tolerance: a learning challenge for poor farmers

Drought-tolerant crops could improve food security — if researchers take downstream adoption challenges seriously, says Travis Lybbert.

14 July 2010 | EN

Woman planting crops, Madagascar

Soil fertility key to African green revolution

Replenishing soil fertility through fertilisers is key to increasing food production in tropical Africa, says Pedro A. Sánchez.

Source: Nature Geoscience

24 May 2010 | EN

Monsanto's Roundup Ready Soya

GM: higher production doesn't mean wider acceptance

GM production is up, but that doesn't mean Latin Americans like or want it, say Luisa Massarani, Ildeu de Castro Moreira and Ana Maria Vara.

19 May 2010 | EN | ES | 中文

Man in rice field, Taiwan

Agricultural technologies must be 'appropriate'

'Appropriate' technologies, no matter where they come from, are the key to improving agriculture, says development expert Sara Delaney.

Source: Global Food Security

5 April 2010 | EN

Bean planting in Colombia - Flickr\CIAT (by Neil Palmer)

Global agricultural research must be transformed

A transformation of the global agricultural research system is needed to avoid a billion more people going hungry, says Uma Lele.

Source: Science

29 March 2010 | EN | 中文