b'A look at seed industry developments around the globe.Israeli researchers haveSTATUS ISRAEL comes all the way from themination rate. On the other Israeli researchers have devel- deserts of western Peru with ahand, seeds are not meant developed a better drought- oped a new variety of tomatocommon commercial cultivarto be eaten because they are resistance tomato to helpthat is more resistant tothat is widely available. treated to protect them from drought conditions and couldSource: The Media Line diseases and pest attacks and with climate change, thehelp farmers cope with theare meant to be planted. UK approves the precisiondestructive impact of climateSource: AATFbreeding bill and Kenyachange. An in-depth geneticSTATUS KENYAanalysis led by the HebrewAfrican scientists say they are looks to scale up GM cropUniversity of Jerusalems Shaiscaling up research on geneti- STATUS UKproduction.Torgeman and Professor Danically modified (GM) cropsThe UKs precision breed-Zamir identified interactionssuch as maize and cassava toing bill Genetic Technology between two areas of theincrease food security on the(Precision Breeding) Bill 2022-tomatos genome that lead tocontinent as climate change23enabling plant breeding increased yield and resistanceplaces increased stress onwhile facing hurdles such as to dry conditions. yields.climate change, food security The resulting new tomatoWe are advocating forand sustainable farminghas variety, which has yet toGMOs becausetheir safetybeen approved by Parliament. be named, can cope withis no longer in doubt, andThis legislation has been extreme weather conditions.other continents are alreadyupdated for the first time in To achieve this, scientistsbenefiting from its overmore than two decades, and crossbred two species oftwo decades of existence,many are applauding the bill.tomatoesa wild variety thatsaid Canisius Kanangire,For plant breeders, the executive director of Kenya- most significant of these based African Agriculturalwill be the Food Standards Technology FoundationAgencys plans for a separate (AATF), one of the organiza- approval process for food and tions propagating the deploy- feed marketing. The legislation ment of GM technology inprovides more appropriate Africa. regulation of precision breed-ing techniques compared to current GMO legislation which STATUS NIGERIA will bring the UK more in line Farmers in Nigeria have beenwith other countries already urged to stop using grainsusing enabling regulations, as seeds in order to increasesays the British Society of harvests. Speaking in KadunaPlant Breeders.during a meeting with farm- Garlich von Essen, sec-ers, Brighton Karume, man- retary general of Euroseeds aging director of ECOBasicstated: The UKs approval of Seeds Company Limited, saidthe bill on precision breeding the country would be foodis a welcome development secure if smallholders usedthat reflects the countrys certified hybrid seeds everycommitment to science-based planting season. policymaking and innovation. Karume called for aThe bill helps the UK be in national drive to educateline with more countries that farmers on the differencesare enabling genetic editing between seeds and grains.technology and helps them Grains are meant to be usedstay competitive. SWfor food, so they are not treated and have low ger-50/ SEEDWORLD.COMJUNE 2023'