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 5246 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM SURVEY SHOWS THAT AGRICULTURE EXTENSION OFFICERS IN PAKISTAN NEED MORE TRAINING ON BIOTECH According to an economic survey conducted by Pakistan‘s Minister of Finance, the agricultural production in the country continues to be low due to lack of technical knowledge at the farm level. Since biotechnology has shown benefits for farmers, especially in improving production, it is important to have efficient agricultural extension services. Thus, researchers from the University of Agriculture in Peshawar, Pakistan evaluated the technical competencies and needs of agriculture extension officers (AEOs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Results showed that AEOs with more attendance to training and higher technical competencies (self-assessed) exhibited better understanding of biotechnology and its importance. Majority of the respondents signified their interest to improve their knowledge through more training on biotechnology. EXTRAS HARVESTS IN THE U.S. TO SUFFER FROM CLIMATE CHANGE Some of the most important crops risk substantial damage from rising temperatures. To better assess how climate change caused by human greenhouse gas emissions will likely impact wheat, maize and soybean, an international team of scientists ran an unprecedentedly comprehensive set of computer simulations of U.S. crop yields. The simulations were shown to reproduce the observed strong reduction in past crop yields induced by high temperatures, thereby confirming that they capture one main mechanism for future projections. Importantly, the scientists find that increased irrigation can help to reduce the negative effects of global warming on crops — but this is possible only in regions where sufficient water is available. Eventually limiting global warming is needed to keep crop losses in check. This way, they can find out if they include the critical factors into their calculations, from temperature to CO2, from irrigation to fertilization. Without efficient emission reductions, yield losses of 20 percent for wheat are possible by 2100. For every single day above 30°C, maize and soybean plants can lose about five per cent of their harvest. The simulations have shown that the models capture how rather small heat increases beyond this threshold can result in abrupt and substantial yield losses. Such temperatures will be more frequent under unabated climate change and can severely harm agricultural productivity. Harvest losses from elevated temperatures of 20 per cent for wheat, 40 per cent for soybean and almost 50 per cent for maize, relative to non-elevated temperatures, can be expected at the end of our century without efficient emission reductions. These losses do not even consider extremely high temperatures above 36°C, which are expected to lower yields further. The effects go far beyond the U.S., one of the largest crop exporters: world market crop prices might increase, which is an issue for food security in poor countries. NAMIBIA EYES BUILDING TIES WITH IRRI TO BOOST RICE PRODUCTION Although corn is Namibia’s primary food staple, the government is keen on expanding rice production to improve its food security. Research has shown that the crop can be successfully grown in Namibia’s seasonal wetlands, but frequent droughts that occur in the semi-arid country pose a threat to its rice production. A delegation from Namibia, headed by High Commissioner Anne Namakau Mutelo, visited, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) on 12 January to learn about its high-impact research activities, particularly on drought. “We’ve learned a lot,” said Commissioner Mutelo. “We saw how different countries, nationalities have come together here to conserve rice, improve its production, and generally ensure global food security.” Rector Mutelo, chief executive officer of Namibia Biometric Systems, commended IRRI’s partnership-driven research. “This is the United Nations of rice,” he noted. Heritha Nankole Muyoba of RMZ Consulting, a private educational and business organization in Namibia that works with farmers, said what IRRI offers Namibian farmers are drought-tolerant and climate change-ready rice varieties. Nakole also showed great interest in the International Rice Genebank. “We saw how all the rice varieties are being conserved and their database system,” she said. “If we plan to start a genebank in Namibia we don’t have to start from nothing.” The Namibian visit also served as an opportunity to explore possible areas of collaboration with IRRI. FRENCH COMPANY TO BUILD NEW $400-MILLION PEA PROCESSING PLANT IN MANITOBA, CANADA The Manitoba government announced a historic investment in the province’s food-processing industry, confirming French Company Roquette’s plans to build a new, $400-million pea- processing facility near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The facility will help to better serve customers in North America and globally with high-value nutritional choices including vegetarian foods and high-protein sport nutrition products. The Manitoba government is providing tax increment financing (TIF) of up to $6.82 million, which will assist in covering site development costs for the facility. This TIF will support the development by providing grants equivalent to applicable incremental provincial education taxes over a set number of years based on the initial assessed value of the property. Construction is expected to begin in the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie before the end of 2017. Canada is the largest producer of peas in the world. Roquette chose Manitoba as the location for the new facility due to the quality of the workforce, the strength of its diverse economy, location as a transportation hub by air, rail and road to the rest of the continent, and access to reliable, sustainable and economical hydroelectric energy.