Dear Subscribers, Here is Update 3-2013 of FAO-BiotechNews. As usual, we welcome any feedback you have about this Update. We also encourage you to tell your colleagues about FAO-BiotechNews. The newsletter is published in six different versions, one per language i.e. Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish. If any of your colleagues wish to subscribe, they can send a message to [log in to unmask] indicating which e-mail addresses are to be subscribed and in which language they wish to receive the newsletter. Alternatively, they can subscribe themselves. Instructions for people to subscribe or unsubscribe themselves are provided at the end of this message. Finally, to ensure that updates of FAO-BiotechNews will not be treated as spam or be moved to your junk folder, we encourage you to add [log in to unmask] to your Junk e-mail Safe Senders list. With best wishes John John Ruane The Coordinator of FAO-BiotechNews, 27-9-2013 The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) E-mail address: mailto:[log in to unmask] FAO Biotechnology website http://www.fao.org/biotech/en/ (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) *** NEWS *** (http://www.fao.org/biotech/biotech-news/en/) 1) Report of the FAO GM Foods Platform launch During the 36th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission which took place in Rome, Italy, FAO organized a side event on 1 July 2013 to launch the FAO GM Foods Platform. The platform shares information on safety assessment of foods derived from recombinant-DNA plants authorized in accordance with the Codex Guideline entitled "Guideline for the conduct of food safety assessment of foods derived from recombinant-DNA plants" (Guideline CAC/GL 45-2003, annex III adopted in 2008). It also facilitates the effective utilisation of food safety assessment in situations of low level presence of recombinant-DNA plant materials in food. See the report of the side event at http://fao.org/gm-platform or contact [log in to unmask] for more information. 2) National reporting for the 2nd State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources In 2007, FAO released "The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture", a comprehensive 511-page publication drawing on 169 country reports and a range of other sources to provide the first global assessment of animal genetic resources and their management. FAO has been requested to prepare an update of this global report for launch in 2015. As part of this process, a country report questionnaire for collecting national data has been agreed upon. National Coordinators for the Management of Animal Genetic Resources, nominated by the respective governments, have the responsibility for organizing the preparation of the country reports and they have been requested to submit their country report before 31 January 2014. The questionnaire includes a 2-page section dedicated to reproductive and molecular biotechnologies, covering aspects such as their availability to livestock keepers, their use in research, the stakeholders involved and their use in animal genetic resources management. People wishing to contribute to this section should contact their National Coordinators. See http://www.fao.org/Ag/AGAInfo/programmes/en/genetics/Second_state.html or contact [log in to unmask] for further information. 3) La innovación y las biotecnologías agrícolas The Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia recently published "Biotecnologías e innovación: el compromiso social de la ciencia" (Biotechnology and innovation: The social compromise of science), edited by E. Hodson de Jaramillo and T. Zamudio. One of the chapters in this 327-page book is dedicated to "La innovación en agricultura y las biotecnologías agrícolas como herramientas de las políticas de seguridad alimentaria" (Innovation in agriculture as a tool in food security policies: The case of agricultural biotechnologies) by A. Sonnino and J. Ruane, from the FAO Research and Extension Branch. See http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/ar635s/ar635s.pdf (0.5 MB) or contact [log in to unmask] to request a copy of the chapter. 4) Guidelines for in vivo conservation of animal genetic resources As part of its Animal Production and Health Guidelines series, FAO recently published "In vivo conservation of animal genetic resources". In vivo conservation is the conservation of a breed through the maintenance of live animal populations. The aim of this 242-page publication is to provide the technical background needed by organizations or individuals who want to set up, implement and monitor in vivo conservation programmes in a rational manner. It describes the tasks and actions that should be undertaken to prevent the extinction of breeds and promote their sustainable use. The use of different biotechnologies, such as molecular markers and various reproductive technologies, is also covered. See http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3327e/i3327e00.htm or contact [log in to unmask] for more information. 5) 10th anniversary of AGORA initiative The Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA) initiative was set up by FAO and its partners in 2003 to improve access to scientific information for agriculture sector institutions in developing countries. On 16 September 2013, a special event was celebrated at FAO to mark its 10th anniversary. The initiative currently provides local, not-for-profit institutions access to over 3,500 high-quality, relevant agriculture and life science journals, many dealing directly or indirectly with biotechnology. Access is free for institutions in 78 low-income countries and low-cost for institutions in an additional 38 lower-middle income countries. AGORA is one of the four literature access programmes of the Research4Life public-private partnership and partners of the Research4Life programmes have pledged their continued support until 2020. See http://www.aginternetwork.org/en/ (in English, French or Spanish) or contact [log in to unmask] for further information. 6) FAO/IAEA Animal Production and Health Newsletter 58 The July 2013 newsletter from the Animal Production and Health Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture is now available. The 40-page newsletter, issued twice a year, gives an overview of past and upcoming training courses, meetings, projects, news stories and publications. See http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/aph/public/newsletters-aph.html or contact [log in to unmask] for more information. 7) FAO/IAEA Plant Breeding and Genetics Newsletter 31 The July 2013 newsletter from the Plant Breeding and Genetics Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture is now available. This 36-page newsletter, issued twice a year, gives an overview of their past and upcoming events (meetings, training courses etc.), ongoing projects and publications. See http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/pbg/public/newsletters-pbg.html or contact [log in to unmask] to request a copy. 8) 10th anniversary of Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety The 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity was on 11 September 2013. To commemorate this event, the Secretariat of the Protocol published a special issue of the Biosafety Protocol Newsletter and released a video highlighting the main achievements of the Protocol as well as a series of short video clips from representatives of Parties and relevant organizations highlighting some of the successes and lessons learned regarding implementation of specific provisions of the Protocol. See http://bch.cbd.int/protocol/10thAnniversary.shtml or contact [log in to unmask] for more information. 9) Solutions for sustainable agriculture and food systems - SDSN report In 2012, the United Nations Secretary-General announced the launch of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) which mobilizes scientific and technical expertise from academia, civil society and the private sector in support of sustainable development problem solving at local, national and global scales. It is structured around 12 Thematic Groups of global experts that work to identify common solutions and highlight best practices. In September 2013, the SDSN released seven reports by the Groups which were prepared to help inform the discussions around a post-2015 development framework and to complement the SDSN's flagship report "An action agenda for sustainable development" released in June 2013. One of the reports is entitled "Solutions for sustainable agriculture and food systems" and was prepared by the SDSN Thematic Group on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, co-chaired by A. Dobermann and R. Nelson. Chapter 2 of the 99-page report, entitled "towards a sustainable development path for agriculture and food systems", also considers the role of biotechnology as a component of sustainable agricultural intensification. See http://unsdsn.org/thematicgroups/tg7/ or contact [log in to unmask] for more information. 10) UNCTAD Trade and Environment Review 2013 As part of its Trade and Environment Review series, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has just published "Wake up before it is too late: Make agriculture truly sustainable now for food security in a changing climate". The 321-page report is organized in 5 chapters, written by over 50 contributors, dedicated respectively to key development challenges of a fundamental transformation of agriculture; livestock production: a climate change and food security hot spot; the role of research and technology and extension services (which includes an 8-page commentary about genetic engineering and biotechnology); the role of changes in land use; and, finally, the importance of international trade and trade rules for transforming global agriculture. See http://unctad.org/en/Pages/Publications/TradeandEnvironmentReviewSeries.aspx or contact [log in to unmask] for more information. 11) ICAR-CIMMYT molecular breeding course in wheat: Laboratory manual On 25-27 August 2013, a molecular breeding course in wheat took place in Karnal, India, organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). The course was held for young scientists from different wheat research stations of India involved in a project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to increase the productivity of wheat under rising temperatures and water scarcity in South Asia. A 38-page laboratory manual, edited by S. Dreisigacker, R. Tiwari and S. Sheoran, that was developed for the course is now available on the web. See http://repository.cimmyt.org/xmlui/handle/10883/3221# or contact [log in to unmask] for more information. 12) Socio-economic considerations in biosafety decision-making The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has just published "Socioeconomic considerations in biosafety decisionmaking: Methods and implementation", edited by D. Horna, P. Zambrano and J. Falck-Zepeda. The specific objective of this study is to provide guidance on how to conduct an ex ante economic assessment of a genetically modified (GM) crop when such an assessment becomes part of the crop's approval process. Using the case of GM cotton in Uganda, the authors propose and develop a methodological framework for the inclusion of socio-economic considerations in biosafety evaluations. See http://www.ifpri.org/publication/socioeconomic-considerations-biosafety-decisionmaking or contact [log in to unmask] for more information. *** EVENTS *** (http://www.fao.org/biotech/biotech-events/en/) 16-17 October 2013, Geneva, Switzerland. Round table on access to information, public participation and access to justice regarding LMOs/GMOs. Organized under the auspices of the Aarhus Convention and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the outcomes of this event are intended to facilitate implementation of the Aarhus Convention's Almaty Amendment on GMOs and to contribute to implementation of the Cartagena Protocol's programme of work on public awareness, education and participation concerning living modified organisms (LMOs). See http://www.unece.org/gmo_2013.html (round table documents are in English, with some also in French and Russian) or contact [log in to unmask] for more information. 30 June to 4 July 2014, Trieste, Italy. Risk assessment: The role of science in GMO decision-making. Organized by the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), the objective of this workshop is, through a series of tailored case studies, to provide training in the various practical and theoretical approaches to risk assessment, as well as to provide context by describing its role in GMO decision-making. Deadline for applications is 24 January 2014. See http://www.icgeb.org/trieste-risk-assessment-gmo-decision-making-2014.html or contact [log in to unmask] for more information. *************************** This newsletter contains news and events items relevant to agricultural biotechnologies in developing countries. Its main focus is on the activities of FAO, other UN agencies/bodies and the 15 CGIAR research centres. Items from the newsletter may be reproduced, provided that the source (FAO-BiotechNews, http://www.fao.org/biotech/) is given. 1. To subscribe to FAO-BiotechNews, send an e-mail message to [log in to unmask] with only the following one line in the body of the message (i.e. leave the subject line blank and have no other text, such as an e-mail signature, in the message): subscribe FAO-BiotechNews-L firstname lastname Firstname and lastname refer to the person's first and last name. 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