Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 5242 STATUSBrazil SYNGENTA BOOSTED its production capacity of fungicide and seed corn in Brazil — a country which last year tripped up the Swiss- based group, and many peers. Syngenta said it had invested a combined total of $240 million in two facilities in Brazil, to produce fungicide and seed corn, as well as expand its herbicide capacity in Switzerland. The completion of this expansion signals confidence in Brazilian farmers spending abilities, as high local-currency prices compensate for the scarcity of credit. Syngenta’s expansion included a new facility in Sao Paulo, which will produce Elatus, a fungicide in the form of dry water soluble granules for easy transportation. Elatus sales in Latin America exceeded $400 million in 2015. In its July report, Syngenta noted that the fungicide “continues to perform well against soybean rust in Brazil.” In Goias, Syngenta will quadruple seed corn capacity at a facility in Formosa. The site will raise its production capacity from 400,000 bags of corn per year to 1.6 million. In the latest set of quarterly reports, Syngenta noted: “Seed sales showed strong growth driven by second season corn in Brazil and by higher corn acreage in Argentina.” Seed companies, governments, non- governmental organizations and Extension experts work to help farmers be more successful. In Brazil, it’s investing in infrastructure, and in Tanzania, it’s creating drought-resistant varieties. Agricultural prices in Brazil have risen sharply during the past year, after weakness in the real spurred rapid early exports. Corn prices in Brazil, according to the agricultural think tank Cepea, stand at $13.09 a bag, about $5.55 a bushel. Soybean prices are some $24.27 per bag. While the real has recovered somewhat from the highs of early 2016, local currency prices are even more impres- sive. But the relative weak- ness of the real also makes imports and crop inputs more expensive. Farm spending in the first half of the year was hampered by low access to credit, but input sellers have been turning positive. Source: agrimoney.com. STATUSEthiopia THE ETHIOPIAN government’s political goodwill has been praised for placing the country in a strategic position to use biotechnology in agricultural production. A team comprising representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and other international biotechnology and biosafety partners lauded that, for the first time, the Ethiopian government had committed USD4.5 million toward developing a biotechnology road map. The road map was unanimously adopted by the Council of Ministers led by H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia. It has led to the establishment of Ethiopian Biotechnology Research Institute in a bid to raise the country’s capacity for agricultural biotechnology. During the coordination meeting Sept. 29 in Addis- Ababa, it was announced that after the revision of the biosafety proclamation, which was previously described as stringent, the country has seen a complete turnabout in the progress toward adoption of agricultural biotechnology. Other than the biotechnology road map, there have also been remarkable institutional achievements such as development of the country’s biosafety guidelines. These include guidelines on application for deliberate release of living modified organisms (LMOs), risk assessment parameters for LMOs, management of risks from handling of LMOs, requirements for transport and storage of products from LMOs and guidelines of application for special permit to handle LMOs for research and teaching. Belete Geda who represented the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, called on international partners to support strengthening the country’s capacity for biotechnology. The parliamentarians present in the meeting promised to