b'INTERNATIONAL NEWSGLOBAL SEED WATCHTHE REINTRODUCTION OF COTTON IN ECUADOR, A NEW CROP RESEARCH INSTITUTE OPENING IN ESTONIA, AND KENYA BRINGING END TO 10-YEAR GMO BAN.STATUS CHINA The communitys revival of cotton production will further strengthen the work of these women who, since forming their Foxtail millet, Setaria italica, is one of the oldest and moreassociation in 2005, have played a vital role at the heart of the resilient crops worldwide. Compared to rice and wheat, milletlocal economy and community as agents of social change, making has excellent climate resilience and requires less fertilizer, pes- them role models for many women in the surrounding area.ticides, and irrigation than mainstream cereals. In addition, mil- Source: FAOlet-based foods are nutritionally superior to other cereal crops. With these properties, this crop is poised to play an important role to strengthen food security for the world\'s growing popula- STATUS ESTONIAtion. BGI in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences has uncovered a millet plant genotype-microbiota interactionThe new universal hall of the Estonian Crop Research Institute network that contributes to phenotype plasticity. This study(ETKI) in Jgeva will be completed by next spring. The new was published on October 7, 2022, in Nature Communications.facility, which will be outfitted with cutting-edge experimental Previous studies revealed key loci for early and late floweringequipment, will speed up sustainable plant breeding and plant times and blast-resistance in foxtail millet, but the loci associ- protection research. Andre Veskioja, the director of the ETKI, ated with plant growth or yield are still not known. This researchsaid that Estonia has enough cereal seeds on hand in case imports revealed the association between millet genotype, root microbi- of seeds from other countries are halted. "Our level of self-suf-ome, and agronomic traits through association analysis, and pro- ficiency is nearly 300 percent, which means we produce three posed genotype-dependent microbial effects for the first time.times more than we consume, as according to an unwritten rule, Source: BGI a single seed yields 20," Veskioja said. Minister of Agriculture Urmas Kruuse also said that Estonia has enough strategic stocks to ensure food security even if no grain crosses the border.STATUS ECUADOR Source: ERR.EEIn the last five years, the 127 members of the Association of Community Women of Tosagua Canton (AMUCONT) have beenSTATUS KENYAat the forefront of Ecuadors groundbreaking initiative to bring back cotton production to the area. Since its heyday in the 1970s,In a major policy shift, newly elected Kenyan President William the crop had almost vanished amid a combination of climate-re- Rutos government has authorised the cultivation and importa-lated factors, pests and global economic trends. tion of genetically modified crops and animal feeds, bringing an The reintroduction of cotton, with the support of FAO, theend to a 10-year ban. The announcement came as the country Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairsexperiences its worst drought in 40 years. Its estimated that at and Ecuadors Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, is help- least 4 million people are going hungry in 23 counties, forcing ing to transform the lives of rural communities, and women inthe government to provide them with food relief.particular as the countrys traditional farmers of cotton, as partSource: African Newsof a diversified farming strategy. Modelled on successful expe-riences in Brazil, the project brings in cotton in rotation with the women farmers traditional crops of peanuts, cassava andSTATUS MEXICOmaize, increasing the communitys resilience and adaptability to climate change.The results of banning the import of genetically modified (GM) Ecuador is just one of seven countries in the region, along- maize in Mexico will not only result in economic losses amount-side Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Haiti, Paraguay and Peru,ing to billions of U.S. dollars in the country and North America, which are implementing the +Cotton project. This Trilateralbut will also affect the livestock sector, human health, food secu-South-South cooperation initiative promotes the sustainablerity and the environment, a recent report prepared by World development of the cotton value chain in the region to increasePerspectives Inc. states.incomes and employment opportunities for family farmers. The report was released by a coalition of leading food and This boost to these Ecuadorean womens incomes has alsoagriculture industry stakeholders in both Mexico and the United raised their confidence. "We now feel we are in the driving seatStates and highlights the projected impact that the GM maize of this enterprise, which is cotton," says association memberimport ban would have over the next 10 years. The ban will also Melva Ormaza. cause setback to future innovation research including studies on The work involves processing the fibre using innovativethe development of new genetic traits in order to increase food small-scale ginning technology. Its a breakthrough empower- production and produce environmental stress-resilient crops. ing the community to produce cotton viably without relying onLikewise, non-GM crop production also waives the benefits of the large ginning factories, of which Ecuadors last remaininghigher yields using reduced land use for agriculture, and the one closed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The projectlower chemical applications along with the no-till practices that provided the mini-ginning machine, which is currently the onlyprotect soils and lower carbon emissions.one in the country. Source: ISAAA 36IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM'