b'INTERNATIONAL NEWSGLOBAL SEED WATCHCANADA LAUNCHES CLIMATE SOLUTION INITIATIVE, GHANA ASKS FOR MANDATORY PUBLIC PARTICIPATION LEADING TO THE DEREGULATION OF THE PBR COWPEA, AND KENYAS NATIONAL BIOSAFETY AUTHORITY HAS PUBLISHED GENOME EDITING GUIDELINES.STATUS CANADA environment and placing on the market and importation of genet-ically modified Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) cowpea in Ghana. The The Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) have launched the Road toapplication which follows serval years of research was submitted 2050, a climate solutions initiative to help meet Canadas ambitiousto the NBA by Savanna Agriculture Research Institute (SARI), goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, a March 28 news release says. under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). As part of Canadian grain farmers ongoing leadership asThe application according to the NBA is undergoing a sci-environmental stewards, we continue to look forward to ensureence-based review process together with relevant regulatory our competitiveness, Andre Harpe, GGC chair, says in the release.agencies in Ghana and independent experts to ascertain that the The farmer-driven path to net zero must reflect what farmersPBR Cowpea variety is safe for human and animal health and the have done and can sustainably do in the future, which is why GGCenvironment.has decided to lead this important initiative.The Road to 2050 is meant to provide a framework which focuses on innovation, research and beneficial managementSTATUS INDIApractices. Harpe notes itll boost productivity while continuing to enhance soil quality, improving the carbon sequestration potentialFor general cultivation in Punjab, the Punjab Agricultural of crop land and reducing emissions. University (PAU) has developed and recommended eight new rice, cotton, maize, mash, and fodder types. PR 131 and PR 130 rice varieties, PAU Bt 2 and PAU Bt 3 cotton varieties, Punjab Baby Corn STATUS CHINA 1 maize variety, Mash 883 mash variety, SL 45 fodder (sorghum) variety, and PCB 166 fodder variety (bajra).Experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported the suc- The varieties were accepted following a lengthy discussion cessful development of fragrant cultivated sorghum using CRISPR- at a meeting of the State Variety Approval Committee for Field Cas9 gene editing technology. Their findings are published as aCrops, which was chaired by Dr Gurvinder Singh, Punjabs Director breakthrough report in the Journal of Integrative Plant Biology. of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Dr. AS Dhatt, Director of Soghum is the fifth largest crop with high economical valueResearch, and Dr. Ashok Kumar, Director of Extension Education, because it is used as a staple food and raw material for liquor andwere also present at the conference. The PR 131 rice variety is a vinegar brewing. It is also used as a silage source due to its highhigh-yielding, lodging-resistant variety. The PAU Bt 2 cotton vari-biomass and quality. However, no fragrant varieties of sorghumsety is a Bt cotton with built-in resistance to spotted and American are currently available. Thus, the researchers used CRISPR-Cas9bollworms.to knockout the gene (SbBADH2) responsible for regulating aromaSource: Krishijagranin sorghum. This led to plants with fragrant seeds and leaves.The leaves were dried and powdered then fed to rabbits. The rabbits exhibited attraction to the fragrant sorghum feed, whichSTATUS KENYAimplies its potential to impact animal husbandry among other applications. Kenyas National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has published Genome Source: ISAAA Editing Guidelines, marking an important step towards the devel-opment of a genome editing regulatory framework in the country. After Nigeria, Kenya becomes the second African country to pub-STATUS GHANA lish such guidelines.The published guidelines provide clarity on which genome-ed-The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) of Ghana has called onited organisms and/or derived products will be regulated under the public to send comments, petitions, and suggestions as partKenyas Biosafety Act, and which products are regulated as conven-of the mandatory public participation requirement leading to thetional varieties or breeds. The Guidelines will lead applicants and deregulation of the PBR Cowpea in the country. reviewers on the approach to take while submitting and reviewing The public notice seeking public participation was publishedapplications for consideration of projects at research, trials, and in a state gazette dated February 18, 2022. According to thecommercial release of products of this technology, explained Dr. Biosafety laws of Ghana, the public had 60 days starting fromRoy Mugiira, NBAs acting Chief Executive Officer.that date within which they are to send in their support, petitionSource: ISAAAto enable the agency to approve the request from the Sarvanana Agricultural Research Institute which is seeking to deregulate the PBR Cowpea in the country. STATUS PHILIPPINESThe gazette noted that: Pursuant to section 18 (1) of the Biosafety Act 2011 together with section 19 of Biosafety regula- Fifteen new inbred rice varieties were approved for commercial tions 2019, the NBA hereby announces to the public the receiptrelease in December 2021 by the National Seed Industry Council of an application for consideration for the introduction into the(NSIC). Eight among these are PhilRice-bred: three for irrigated 42IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM'