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Science & Technology News

UN calls for science-led ‘ever-green’ agricultural revolution

THE UN has called on international Governments to create a 21st Century ‘ever-green revolution’ for agriculture that would aim to double production, while protecting the earth’s resources.

In a new report on global sustainable development, the UN highlights the importance of international investment in agricultural science, including biotechnology, to achieve these goals. more

Farmers Guardian, 1 February 2012 


US air pollution costs EU 1.2M tonnes of wheat a year

A team of researchers from the universities of Leeds and York has discovered that anthropogenic (human-made) air pollution from North America causes Europe to lose 1.2 million tonnes of wheat a year. The scientists have said their research shows for the first time the extent of the Northern Hemisphere's intercontinental crop losses caused by ozone - a chemical partly produced by fossil fuels.

The study’s outcomes reflect poorly on the North American countries, which have abandoned the Kyoto Protocol, as it suggests that increasing levels of air pollution from one continent may partly offset efforts to cut carbon emissions in another. more

Farming Online, 30 January 2012 


UK Expects Warming to Boost Crop Yields From Sugar to Wheat

Sugar and wheat farming probably will become more productive as the average temperature rises across the UK in the next 40 years, the government concluded in a report assessing the impact of climate change.

Sugar beet yields may rise 20 percent to 70 percent and wheat yields by as much as 140 percent because the atmosphere is warming, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said today.

“A warmer climate presents opportunities to grow new crops such as soya, sunflowers, peaches, apricots and grapes,” the department said a statement in London. more

Bloomberg, 26 January 2012 


Double agricultural research to help world's poorest: Bill Gates

The world needs at least to double its spending on agricultural research if it is to produce reliable crops and improve the lives of the one billion people who battle starvation every day, Bill Gates said in an interview on Tuesday.

A day before flying to Davos to meet political and business leaders, Gates said he was concerned the austerity drive in Europe could lead to a fall in foreign aid spending, setting back the fight against poverty, hunger and disease.

While acknowledging the difficulties policymakers in the richer world face at a time of slumping growth, the world's second wealthiest man said now was the time to invest in research and development. more

Reuters, 25 January 2012 


Fruit and vegetable consumption by poorer families falls 30%, figures show

Lower income families in the UK have cut their consumption of fruit and vegetables by nearly a third in the wake of the recession and rising food prices, to just over half of the five-a-day portions that the government recommends for a healthy diet.

Households in the lowest tenth of incomes were buying only 2.7 portions of fruit and vegetables a day at the end of 2010, the latest year for which figures are available, while the average household continued to buy about four portions per person, according to statistics from the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). For lower income households, that represents a 30% decline in purchases of fresh fruit and vegetables since 2006. more

The Guardian, 23 January 2012


50% of EU-produced food thrown away

Half of the food produced in the EU gets wasted (89 million tonnes per year, equal to the weight of 1,000 Airbus planes per day), while 16 million EU citizens struggle every day to get a proper meal without support from charities, according to a report adopted by the European Parliament today in Strasbourg.

The report, drafted by S&D (Socialist and Democrat) MEP Salvatore Caronna, lays out an action plan for a 50% cut in edible food waste by 2025, calling on the European Commission to adopt practical measures to further this goal. more

Farm Business, 19 January 2012 


TB pilot areas confirmed

Landowners and farmers from two carefully-selected areas are now able to apply for licences to pilot new measures designed to tackle the devastating impact of bovine TB, Agriculture Minister Jim Paice has confirmed.
 
The disease forced the slaughter of 25,000 cattle in 2010 alone and will cost taxpayers around £1 billion over the next ten years if not effectively dealt with.
 
Two areas in West Gloucestershire and West Somerset have been selected, from a shortlist proposed by the farming industry, as the most suitable to pilot controlled shooting of badgers. This forms part of a science-led and closely monitored policy to bring bovine TB under control. more

Farm Business, 19 January 2012 


‘Super-grass’ may boost diet and bioenergy

A newly discovered family of genes could help scientists breed ‘super-grasses’ with improved properties for food and fuel, new research from Cambridge, UK, reveals.

Researchers from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Sustainable Bioenergy Centre have discovered a family of genes that could help us breed grasses, such as rice and wheat, with enhanced properties for diet and bioenergy.

The research was carried out by a team from the University of Cambridge and Rothamsted Research, which receives strategic funding from BBSRC. Their findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. more

Business Weekly, 17 January 2012

Europol warns of counterfeit pesticide trade

The European crime intelligence agency Europol as issued a warning that organised crime groups in Europe are behind a growth in the trade of illegal and counterfeit pesticides. The agency said organised criminals have been attracted to the exceptionally ‘low risk – high profit’ margin of the market. This, combined with the lack of harmonisation in legislation and implementation, mean the trade is growing rapidly, according to Europol intelligence.

North East Europe in particular has been targeted by the criminal networks involved in the supply of illegal and counterfeit products, but the agency warned that the pesticides have been found throughout Europe. In some states, in excess of 25 per cent of the pesticides in circulation are believed to come from the illegal pesticide market; it is estimated that the global trade in illegal pesticides earns criminals billions of euros each year. more

Farming Online, 17 January 2012


BASF to end GM production in Europe

German chemical company BASF today announced it will be stopping production of genetically modified (GM) crops for the European market. The company blamed hostility from consumers as the reason behind its decision. Approval procedures in the EU take much longer than elsewhere and are frequently mired in stalemate, as politicians and member states' attitudes to GM differ.

Stefan Marcinowski, a spokesperson for BASF, said, “There is still a lack of acceptance for this technology in many parts of Europe – from the majority of consumers, farmers and politicians. It does not make business sense to continue investing in products exclusively for cultivation in this market.”

The company announced it will now move its plant-science unit from Limburgerhof, Germany to the United States and would be closing other sites in Germany and Sweden. BASF said it would also be withdrawing its Amflora potato from the European market, leaving Monsanto’s MON810 maize as the only crop licensed for production in the EU. more

Farming Online, 16 January 2012


Funding secured for NIAB Innovation Farm

A unique £6.8 million NIAB project has secured EU funding to improve the transfer of innovative plant science from research laboratories through to commercial markets.
 
NIAB Innovation Farm has been awarded a £2.7 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), with additional match-funding coming from industry and academic partners. 
 
The initiative, based at NIAB in Cambridge, demonstrates how plant resources and crop genetic improvement can help address the major global challenges of food security, climate change and resource conservation together with improvements in health and nutrition. more

Farm Business, 16 January 2012 


Discovery of plant ‘nourishing gene’ brings hope for increased crop seed yield and food security

University of Warwick scientists have discovered a "nourishing gene" which controls the transfer of nutrients from plant to seed - a significant step which could help increase global food production.

The research, funded by BBSRC and led by the University of Warwick in collaboration with the University of Oxford and agricultural biotech research company Biogemma, has identified for the first time a gene, named Meg1, which regulates the optimum amount of nutrients flowing from mother to offspring in maize plants. more

BBSRC, 13 January 2012 


Farming not to blame for human antimicrobial resistance

NEW research suggests animals may not be to blame for antimicrobial resistance in humans. Scientists from the University of Glasgow found the risk of antimicrobial resistance passing from animals to humans is lower than previous research has indicated.

The research, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, exploited long-term surveillance data of Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 from co-located humans and animals in Scotland. The findings demonstrated how animal and human DT104 populations differ significantly in several ways such as prevalence, linkage, time of emergence, and diversity suggesting the local animal populations are unlikely to be the major source of resistance in humans. more

Farmers Guardian, 9 January 2012 


Climate change 'will boost British farmers’

Climate change will be good for British farming, according to Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, with exotic crops such as melons already thriving.

In a speech at the Oxford Farming Conference, she said that, although problems such as droughts would become more frequent, warmer weather would also mean a longer growing season and less frost damage, allowing the introduction of crops such as peaches, maize and sunflowers. Already 10,000 melons are expected to be harvested in Kent this year.

Mrs Spelman said farmers must “seize the opportunities” of increased production as well as preparing for more droughts and floods by building reservoirs and drains. more

The Telegraph, 6 January 2012 


Tories and Labour renew backing for GM food crops

Controversial genetically modified food crops could help to massively increase food production to meet growing populations and consumption, politicians from both major parties said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the annual Oxford Farming Conference, agriculture minister Jim Paice said the promised benefits of GM varieties – which would need less nitrogen fertiliser, pesticides or fresh water than non-GM foods – could not be ignored, as demand was rising and pressure on resources and land increasing. more

The Guardian, 5 January 2012


BBSRC Impact Report 2011 highlights impacts in food security and innovation

Today (4 January 2012), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) publishes its Impact Report 2011. The report details BBSRC's ongoing efforts to ensure that BBSRC-funded research in basic biology can be fully exploited to deliver economic and social benefits for the UK.

The report (see related links) picks out a number of major highlights from 2010 - 2011 including research to produce a draft sequence of the wheat genome and the launch of a new variety of Broccoli, called Beneforté, developed with funding from BBSRC. more

BBSRC, 4 January 2012 


Call for UK farmers to increase productivity

The government needs to introduce new policies to help strengthen farmers’ ability to produce food if the UK is going to remain a key player in global agriculture.

A report commissioned by the Oxford Farming Conference says UK productivity must improve considerably in the next decade, or risk putting its ability to feed itself under threat.

Without help from DEFRA to find new ways to increase productivity through research and development, the report says the UK will not be able to hold its position on the global farming stage. more

Farmers Weekly, 4 January 2012



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