b"A look at seed industry developments around the globe.modified (GM) crops, sayinggovernment's October 2022tist Alistair Carr. cation in Thailand and the the government had takenorder lifting the 10-year banFood manufacturersgreater Asia-Pacific seed appropriate measures toon the cultivation and impor- have been quick to respondsector.regulate their use in the coun- tation of GM crops. The casewith many novel products.Representatives from the try. The ruling hands Kenyanraised several issues, includ- However, these are oftenthree organizations signed farmers a landmark victory asing the safety of GM cropshighly refined and strippedof a memorandum of under-they are now a step closer toand whether there was publicof their whole-food benefits,standing (MOU) during a cultivating approved climate- participation before the banhave poor taste and texture,hybrid ceremony on Aug. 8.resilient Bt maize seeds andwas lifted. carry high sodium content,This MOU represents disease-resistant cassava inAccording to NBA, Kenyaand can have hidden damagethe fifth agreement among a bid to arrest the country'shas approved 58 GM projectsto essential amino acids. Thea series of planned col-food insecurity and improve 40 for contained use in thenext generation of plant- laborations between APSA, their livelihoods through agri- laboratory or greenhouse,based foods will need to benational seed associations, culture. 15 for confined field trials,prepared more sensibly withand agriculture academic Further, the court statedand three for environmentalgentler handling of the inher- institutions in the Asia-Pacific that the National Biosafetyrelease or commercial culti- ently healthy raw materialsregion. The first agreement Authority (NBA) follows thevation. The crops approvedand better guardianship ofwas signed on March 4 during relevant guidelines adoptedfor commercial cultivationenvironmental impact. the Indian Seed Congress in from the International Foodin Kenya include Bt cotton,The research will test atDelhi, involving APSA, the Code Codex Alimentariuswhich was commercialized inpilot scale how a new industryNational Seed Association to protect consumer healthJanuary 2020, and Bt maizecould operate by using cropsof India (NSAI), and Gobind and promote fair practices inwhich was approved by NBAknown to grow well locally, likeBallabh Pant University of food trade. It acknowledgesin October 2022 and is nowgreen peas, oats and hemp. Agriculture & Technology. This that Kenya has domesticatedawaiting submission to theNew Zealand can par- was followed by a virtual MOU Codex Alimentarius in NBA'sNational Variety Releaseticipate in this opportunitysigning ceremony on March guidelines for safety assess- Committee. by developing the science14, where APSA joined forces ment of foods derived fromSource: ISAAA and technologies to producewith the Thailand Seed Trade genetically modified organ- unique highly functionalAssociation (THASTA) and isms. plant foods, Dr Carr says.the Agriculture and Agri-Food Justice Angote called onSTATUS NEW ZEALAND We have gathered someBusiness Development Unit of the country to trust nationalThe two programmes ledof the brightest minds inKhon Kaen University (AG-institutions saying they haveby AgResearch are amongprocess engineering, foodKKU).the responsibility to follow68 successful applicationsscience, sustainability evalu- After that, APSA signed the law. He underscored thefor research from the recentation, economic analysis andan MOU with Northwest A & importance of close collabora- 2023 funding round for thehuman nutrition. The teamF University in China and the tion among all the biosafetyGovernments Endeavouralso includes many industryChina Seed Association (CSA) regulatory agencies asFund, with a total of $246partners, from plant breed- on April 2. A fourth MOU was stipulated in the Biosafety Act.million allocated. Close toers, growers and processorssigned on June 29 by reps With all these institutions, we$12m has been committedto ingredient-users and foodof APSA, the China National should be confident that ourover five years to a pro- manufacturers. Seed Trade Association health and environment is ingramme that AgResearch(CNSTA), and the College of good hands. It cannot be truewill lead called Plant-BasedAgronomy and Biotechnology that they have all conspired toFood Ingredients: a SystemsSTATUS THAILAND of China Agricultural expose the rest of the popula- Approach to SustainableThe Asia and Pacific SeedUniversity. SWtion to the calamities alludedDesign. Alliance (APSA), the Thai to in the Petition, the courtCrops grown on arableSeed Trade Association observed. land are an abundant resource(THASTA) and Kasetsart On Jan. 16, 2023, the Lawand already provide most ofUniversity (KU) have rein-Society of Kenya (LSK) filedthe calories in peoples diets,forced efforts to raise the the case, challenging thesays AgResearch senior scien- quality of agricultural edu-120/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2023"