NEWSLETTERS

November’s SABP Newsletter is Now Available
Dhaka 17th Nov., '08. The lead article on, “Bt cotton and farmer suicide in India: Reviewing the Evidence” by  three staff members of the International Food Policy Research Institute refutes the claim of some GM activists that introduction of Bt cotton has led to more suicides among Indian farmers. The authors have shown that recent increased suicides is not contributed by more deaths among farmers. In fact, according to them, the “reported share of farmer suicides has in fact been decreasing.”. Among the calendar of events, the Newsletter  includes the oncoming, “International Symposium on regulatory and safety issues in the commercialization of Biotechnology research in the developing world to be held from December 2 through 4, 2008 and the Fourth International Botanical conference from January 14- 16, 2009. Among this month’s pick under the "Cream of  the (Web)  Crop" section the following site has been chosen: the US Grains council Biotechnology Resource Center, Read the Newsletter. 

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Online October issue of  SABP Newsletter

Dhaka 18th Oct., 08. The lead article in this issue is by Prof. O.P. Govila at IARI. He traces the history of  Indian GM cotton containing cry1Ac  gene leading to the release of  a number  Bt cotton varieties after being screened by a number of regulatory bodies. The regulation has been recently relaxed in that Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) now examines the event-based rather than genotype based screening for GM crops. The Newsletter announces two important meetings in BD, namely, Intl. Symp. on regulatory and safety issues in the commercialization of biotech research in developing countries from 2-4 December, ’08  and 4th Intl. Botanical Conference from 16-18^th January, ’09. Under the section, “Cream of the  (Web) Crop, the October issue gives an account of International Portal on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health (IPFSAPH) where news concerning national and intl. standards,  recommended codes of practice, regulations, trade notifications, risk assessments, maximum residue limits, national contact points are given. Read the Newsletter
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Sept. Issue of SABP Newsletter Now Available Online 
Dhaka 17th Sept., ’08. SABP Newsletter for the month of September has just been published. The contents in the PDF format is only one click away when you press here.  Among the news highlights mention may be made of the 2-day training workshop held in the BARC premises. Extension workers from three research centers of  BARI, namely, Joydebpore, Hathazari (Chittagong) and Jessore gathered to receive training from experts who came from AGBIOS, Canada and IARI, New Delhi, India.  On their return they will handle the GM crops under containment conditions. Depending on their success on handling the transgenic material, they will forward their results which after approval will be passed on to the farmers.
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August Issue of SABP is Now Online  

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The April Issue of SABP Newsletter is Now Available.
Austin April 17, ’08. A good article captioned, “Management and Management of  Field Trials of Genetically Modified Crops”,  describes a lengthy process involved in the monitoring and assessment of a transgenic food crop before it  is released for public consumption. The article says that although the Bt  cotton has been successfully introduced surpassing its plantation over the traditional varieties, the same criteria cannot be applied in case of food crops because of health risks. The Newsletter also has published an illustrated account of the recently concluded Plant Tissue Culture and Biotech Conference in Dhaka . GNOBB is pleased note that SABP gives such a good coverage to Bangladeshi events dealing with biotechnology.  The Newsletter has published the High Court  ruling that all lab data on toxicity and allergenicity  studies should be made public to allay the fears of consumers. The last article deals with the importance of the participatory role of public other than scientists and administrators to assess ethical and social values in deciding the fate of a GM crop. Click here to read the Newsetter.
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March Issue of SABP Newsletter is out; Read also the Previous Issue
Austin 27 March, '08. In the current issue of SABP Newsletter (March, ’08), there is an article by Prof. V. L. Maheshwari, in which he advocates  the use of  insecticidal  crystal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis  and azadirachtin from Azadirach indica as ecofriendly bio-pesticides in place of  costly chemical pesticides. This will both minimize the cost as well as reduce toxicity level both in soil and environment. The Newsletter also publishes the news of two workshops held in Dhaka from February 17 through 20, jointly organized by Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council and SABP. In the workshops modus operandi  about implementation of the Biosafety Guidelines  was discussed in-depth following the Gazette notification by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The participants also visited BARI  fields, where imported Bt egg plants, late blight resistant potato plants, golden rice are being grown on a trial basis under containment conditions. Another important news featured the activity of National Research Center, India on Plant Biotechnology,  which has developed its own shoot and fruit borer resistant egg plant cultivar called Pusa Purple Long, driven by  the constitutive promoter CaMV35S.  Another important news is about  India's decision to upgrade the Department of Biotechnology which currently has  an annual budget of Rs. 9000 crores to that of a full-fledged Ministry. In the next five years, it will create 1000  new positions for Ph.D. in four sectors, namely, Agri-food-, Health Science-, Animal Science- and Marine Science  technology. Read the Newsletter by clicking here.

The February issue features a paper entitled “Allergenicity  assessment of genetically modified crops – What makes sense?”  It describes that there is not enough scientific evidence to justify requirement of comparative serum IgE (Immunoglobulin E) testing for differences in endogenous allergens between the transgenic crop and non-transgenic counterpart.   The article on ISAAA  (International Service for the  Acquisition of Agri-biotech  Applications) Brief 37: Global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops shows that the year that passed by witnessed a double-digit growth of GM crops and a list of new countries supporting GM crops. The third important article gives an account of “India Biosafety Clearing House (htto://indbch.nic.in)" which has been established in pursuance of the article 20 of Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
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December and January Issue of SABP has just been Published
Dhaka Jan 19, '08. The current issue of SABP Newsletter has a number of interesting features including recommendations of the Consultation on Herbicide Tolerant GM Crops, Draft Guidelines for the Safety Assessment of  Foods derived from GM plants for Public Comment;  A paper on GM food and Intl. trade of India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines and an article by The Ministry of Environment and Forests, GoI on capacity building on biosafety and another on Economic effects of GM crop adoption in India with or without import restrictions in sensitive countries. Click he title to read the Newsletter.

The December issue of SABP contains a number of important news and documents  e.g.,  a) Draft guidelines for the conduct of confined field trials of unregulated, genetic engineered (GE) plants in India,  b) Draft standard operating procedures and recording formats for confined trials, c) Draft protocols for assessment of toxicity and allergenicity  in transgenic crops,  d) Government of India approves the national biotechnology development strategy. (It took two years of consultation process  with multiple stakeholders comprising concerned ministries, research institutes, universities private sector, civil society, consumer groups, non-government and voluntary organizations and international bodies. It received 300 comments from all sectors of society.) In addition, news and implementation policies as laid out by the Ministry of Environment  & Forests  have been posted;  these are:  a) conservation and survey of flora, fauna, forests and wildlife, b) prevention and control of pollution, c) Afforestation and regeneration of degraded areas, d) protection of the environment, and ensuring the welfare of animals .

Bangladesh biotech scientists working with transgenic crops may garner a lot of information while conducting field trials. It may be recalled that scientists from home abroad met at 3-day conference in April last year to prepare guidelines and submitted to the Government  their recommendations defining the road map for future biotech policy of the government. Pl also read the December issue of SABP by clicking here.
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Nov. Issue SABP Contains an Interesting Article on GMOs with Stacked Genes. Austin, Nov. 15, '07. In an article captioned, "Scientific Rationale for Regulating Plant Biotechnological Products containing 2 or more Traits (stacked genes)", Dr. K. K. Tripathi at the Ministry of S&T, Govt of India advocates that stacked gene products containing two or more transgenes in a crop should  be subjected to same procedure as applied to products derived from traditional breeding. Only those GMOs should be subjected to additional tests if the multiple inserted genes show interactive effects on food, feed or environmental safety. " India overtakes China in Bt cotton race" is  an important news item that features this issue. >>More
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September and October Issues of SABP Newsletter with a Good Deal of New Information
Austin, Oct 30, '07.  There are a number of interesting articles in the September issue, namely, one on, "Capacity building of state biotechnology coordination committees and district level committees for ensuring effective regulatory compliance in India", the other on, "Indian GMO Research Information System (IGMORIS)"  - a web-based database on activities involving the use of GMOs and their products in India.  This issue also contains a report of bioengineered Sorghum varieties capable of growing in aluminum-contaminated soil. The transgene triggers the secretion of citric acid which  neutralizes soil acidity rendering it into a productive land. Sorghum is the fifth largest cereal crop used in tropical regions of Africa, South Asia and South America. The work was carried out in Cornell University under the supervision of  Professor Kochian and they expect to have aluminum tolerant lines by next year. Another article focuses on Indian transgenic Bt cotton which now occupies 70 per cent of the cotton belt. However, India is still reticent on growing transgenic food crops because of their  strict adherence to biosafety rules. Enjoy reading the September Issue.

Equally interesting is the October issue. One of the important  interesting articles is on “Gene Targeting on Plants” by Dr. Ananda Kumar, Director, National Res. Center on Plant Biotechnology. The technique is based on homologous recombination and has been  applied successfully so far to  manipulate genomes in yeast, Trypanosoma and Leishmania. The plant species which responded to this technique is the model plant Arabidopsis where precision targeting was carried out with yeast gene encoding Rad 54 protein. Researchers believe that in the near future it may become feasible to modify gene sequences in vitro and replace the resident gene with the modified gene. Another article deals with the role of WIPO (The World Intellectual Property Rights) which  is a UN agency. In its recent meeting on the 28^th September held in Geneva, Switzerland,  WIPO has adopted a new development-oriented agenda  recognizing the rights  of the  developing world. It’s a healthy sign and highlights the fact that these resolutions will take effect eventually, although at a much slower pace.  It also contains an article on the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of S&T, Government of India. The article shows how this department, set up nearly 21 years ago, has accelerated the pace of Biotech Development concomitant with the building of infrastructure. The article describes its outstanding impacts in the growth and application of biotechnology  in several sectors, namely, agriculture, healthcare, animal sciences, environment and industry leading to commercialization of  certain products and processes. Here is the October issue providing you the entire content.

• SABP (August), ABSP Newsletter, 

• SABP (January)

• The July Issue of SABP Newsletter  Uploaded
  Austin 26^th July,’07. The current issue of SABP contains a number of interesting articles. The one on a contentious issue about labeling of GM foods in  India,  poses the question as to the justification of identifying such a commodity. However, the responsibility of labeling will fall on suppliers of non-GM crops rather than on GM food suppliers. One disquieting news from Pakistan is that the planting of GM cotton  developed by NIBGE (the National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering) has been held up for another two years due to dispute about acquiring the Bt gene from Monsanto. Another article on Bt cotton in India has shown that the yield of GM cotton in India has increased from 308 Kg lint /ha to 450 Kg lint/ha during the past four years. About 20 million of Indian farmers  have planted 200 million ha of GM crops and it is estimated that in another five years the GM cotton production will reach an all time high of 46 million bales requiring the Indian government develop a suitable market strategy to dispose its agriculture products to protect farmers’ interest. Pl read the July issue of SABP Newsletter.
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• The May issue of South Asia Biosafety Program Newsletter
  Austin, May 23, '07. The current issue of SABP contains valuable information about the Indian Supreme Court’s vacating the stay order on discontinuing the field trial of GM crops. It also contains news about Pakistan Government’s approval allowing  the small farmers to grow Bt cotton. Another article stressed the need for every country to  develop its own Bt strains.  Besides  the  lower production cost, it will  be more potent in preventing attack of insects which greatly vary from country to country. Another article describes the potential of  production of transgenic banana which may be used as an oral vaccine against hepatitis B. Pl enjoy reading the current issue of SABP.

• The June issue of SABP Newsletter publishes the Biotech Conf. News held in April 6 through 8
  Austin, June 15, 07. In the June issue, The South Asia Biosafety Program Newsletter has published an illustrated  brief account of the recently-concluded International Conference on, "Promotion of Biotechnology in Bangladesh: National and International Perspectives." GNOBB express their heartfelt thanks  to SABP for giving publicity to this conference and sincerely hope that importance given to the conference by this international organization will play a catalytic role in putting the message across the table of those who decide the policy matter in the country. We hope that the day is not too far when common man in Bangladesh will reap the benefit of the  transgenic crops proven safe for human and animal consumption. Click here to read the account published in this magazine.
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The February issue of SABP Newsletter is Out 

Austin, Feb. 15, '07. Two articles published in the February issue have highlighted the fact that the probable solution to meet the anticipated food shortage in the next decade is to switch over to GM crops because they are eco-friendly,  requiring fewer pesticide sprays, more productive because of its tolerance to environmental stresses, besides some of the varieties being more nutritious. Last year GM crops were planted in 90 million ha in 21 countries by 8.5 million farmers. The US grows almost half of the total area under GM crops followed by Argentina, Canada, Brazil, China and India in the descending order.  The four major commercialized GM crops  are soybean, maize, cotton and canola.

GNOBB takes the opportunity of thanking SABP Editorial Board for displaying prominently in this issue the  detailed news of the forthcoming Biotech conference, "Promotion of Biotechnology in Bangladesh: National and International Perspectives" to be held in Dhaka April 6 through 8. Click the title to enjoy  reading the Newsletter with all its contents.
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March Issue of SABP Newsletter Published
Austin March 15, ’07. The SABP Newsletter highlights the major events that take place during the course of the past calendar month. In one of the articles that features in this issue is the progress made by India to plant transgenic (Bt) eggplants resistant to stem- and fruit borers. This will be the first edible vegetable variety to be planted in India . It may be mentioned that BARI has also embarked upon this project but has not made much headway in the absence of enforcement of biosafety regulations  Another featured article describes the demand made by the Indian business community to lift pre-approval rule for the import of soybean oil from Latin American countries. Read to enjoy the current issue >>.
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April Issue of SABP Newsletter is out

Dhaka April 19, '07. The April issue of SABP has just been published. The article by Prof. K. C. Bansal on, "Chloroplast technology for developing environmentally safe transgenic crops" shows that genes resident on the chloroplast genome are not transmitted through pollen and as such  this technology minimizes the risk of production of transgenic pollen. There are two articles, one reporting opposition by the Pakistani anti-GM group against planting Bt cotton and the other reporting postponement of planting GM food crops pending the settlement by the Supreme Court about the health concern of common man about toxicity of GM crops. Another article   describes the enthusiasm of the Chinese Government to plant  more and more GM crops in an attempt to meet the challenge of food shortage following population increase. It also describes a still under-test rice   variety which provides remedy for pollen-caused allergy. Pl  enjoy reading  the current issue of the Newsletter by clicking here.
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