Search Results
China moves toward commercialization of GMO corn and soy
Chinese officials this week announced that genetically modified (GM) corn and soybean species have passed biosafety evaluations, moving the world’s most populous country closer to the commercialization of those two GM crops. According to reports in Chinese state-run media, two GM corn…
Alliance Fellows advise World Bank on funding priorities for Africa
Cornell Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellows have called on the World Bank to increase funding for science research as a sure way to address poverty and under development in Africa. They are also urging the bank to prioritize and increase investments in dealing with emerging challenges in agriculture, such…
Will ag biotech be Kenyatta’s legacy for Kenya?
Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is serving his second and last term, according to the Constitution, is bent on leaving a memorable popular legacy. He intends to achieve this by keeping his promises as formulated in the Big Four Agenda action plan: raising the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)…
Millennials turn to tech to solve African farming challenges
For generations our farmers were told that they will be the next richest people of the world, due to a growing population sure to become the best and biggest market block that ever existed. With more than 70 percent of our continent practicing agriculture, our African pride and education prepared…
Kenya demo plots show GMO maize resists insects, increases yields
Demonstration plots in Kenya show that genetically modified (GM) maize varieties are more effective in controlling insect attacks than their conventional counterparts — without the use of pesticides. As a result of the pest protection provided by the Bt gene, the GM maize outperformed conventional varieties three-fold per hectare, according…
Kenya needs to overcome inhibitions about GMOs, official says
Supporters must build consensus around successful crop research to make a case for lifting Kenya’s ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), a top agriculture official says. “We need to overcome our inhibitions about GMOs,” said Professor Hamadi Boga, principal secretary of Kenya’s State Department of Agriculture and Food Crops in…
Can TELA maize solve the acute food shortages in sub-Saharan Africa?
Caption: TELA maize (right) shows much better resistance to stem borer and fall armyworm than the non-GMO variety. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most food-insecure region in the world, with an estimated 237 million throughout the region suffering from chronic undernutrition. Frequent droughts are partially to blame for the…
AfS at 5: Five young change-makers in agriculture
The Cornell Alliance for Science has been heartened to meet and work with young people who are passionate about transforming farming and feeding the world. As our organization turns five, we take this opportunity to highlight five young change-makers who are making a difference in global agriculture. Narain TM is…
AfS at 5: Five successes
I was pregnant with my second child, my daughter, while I gestated—in collaboration with great partners from around the world—the concept that became the Cornell Alliance for Science. My daughter is now five. Like the Alliance for Science, she has a strong sense of self, the determination to win and…