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NOVEMBER 2015 59 seek refund of the same with interest after adjusting the trait value payable for the current year according to NSAI. Its reported that after the cotton seeds were taken out of the ambit of the Essential Commodities Act the state governments promulgated legislations to regulate prices of Bt cotton seeds. The seed industry accepted the price orders passed by the respective state governments in the interest of farmers. The association explained that the state governments insisted that they have fixed the royalty reasonable and that seed companies are not bound to consider the private agreements. It is a commonly accepted principle that once the pricing of the product is based on a statute the bilateral agreements are superseded NSAI shared. In a release NSAI wrote Under the circumstances it is important for MMBL and the seed companies to reconcile to the statutory orders and move forward as both are working for the welfare of farmers. If the dispute remains unre- solved cotton seed production in India could be disrupted. Source Business Standard. STATUS The Philippines THE PHILIPPINE Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Policy Planning Research and Development and Regulations Segfredo Serrano received the declaration of support for the commercial planting of the fruit and shoot borer resistant Bt eggplant. Copies of the declarations were handed over Sept. 30 by biotech corn farmer Edwin Paraluman during the Forum on the Global Alliance for Agri- biotech Model on Low-level Presence and GM and Organic Farming Co-existence in the City of Iloilo on Panay Island. After learning about the science safety and potential benefits of Bt eggplant from the University of the Philippines Los Baos the declarations were signed by nearly 700 Filipino farmers scientists and other agribusiness stakeholders. I would hope that there will come a day when we dont need exhaustive resources to get a petition for government to appreciate and to remind us to push a particular issue that is a legitimate right for our farmers and our stakeholders Serrano said after recognizing farmers sentiments. Desiree Hautea project leader and proponent of Bt eggplant in the Philippines from the University of the Philippines Los Baos first introduced Bt eggplant to the country to help address the yield loss caused by borers lessen pesticide usage and labour improve human and environmental health and ultimately increase farmers profits. Paraluman said he has been waiting for Bt eggplant for a long time. If I will get rich in planting corn the more I will get rich in planting eggplant he said. Because I have planted eggplant but 70 to 90 per cent have been damaged because of the eggplant borer. With Bt eggplant we will also have less spraying so its good for the health. Source ISAAA. STATUS South Korea ACCORDING TO researchers from South Korea a twist on a revolutionary gene-editing technique might make it possible to modify plant genomes while sidestepping national biosafety regulations. Plant scientists have been quick to experiment with the popular CRISPRCas9 technique which uses an enzyme called Cas9 guided by two RNA strands to precisely cut segments of DNA in a genome. By disabling specific genes in wheat and rice for example researchers hope to make disease-resistant strains. But the process can introduce bits of foreign DNA into plant genomes. And some jurisdictions such as the European Union could decide to classify such plants as genetically modified organisms making their acceptance by regulatory bodies contentious says geneticist Jin-Soo Kim of Seoul National University. Kim and his team tweaked the technique so that it can delete specific plant genes without introducing foreign DNA creating plants that he and his colleagues think might be exempt from current GMO regulations. In terms of science our approach is just another improvement in the field of genome editing says Kim. However in terms of regula- tions and public acceptance our method could be path- breaking. Source Nature.com.