News brief

Appointment of DFID's Chief Scientific Advisor

Professor Gordon Conway, author of "The Doubly Green Revolution" and President of the Rockefeller Foundation for the last seven years, has been appointed as the first Chief Scientific Advisor for the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The post has been created in response to criticism that DFID has failed to give enough emphasis to science in its policy making. Conway's role at DFID will be to identify areas where science and technology can be applied to poverty reduction and improvements in health, food security, and other aspects of the UN Millennium Development Goals. He will also be expected to advise DFID on how its staff can access and understand science and technology, and to promote ways for DFID and other government departments to work coherently together to make greater use of science to reduce global poverty.

Conway was the unanimous choice of an independent selection process chaired by the UK Civil Service Commissioner and will take up the part-time position from January 2005. He has also been appointed to a part-time position as Professor of International Development at London's Imperial College.
www.dfid.gov.uk.

Chicken joins genome club

The complete chicken genome has recently been published in Nature. Researchers from around the world, who make up The International Chicken Genome Sequencing Consortium, decided on the red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus), a wild ancestor of domestic poultry still living in parts of southern Asia, as the species to be mapped. It is the first avian genome to be sequenced and the published data will help to bridge the gap between the genomes already obtained from mammals and other organisms. The information will also help scientists to identify the genetic basis of many agriculturally important traits. The scientists discovered that the chicken genome contains a similar number of genes (20,000-23,000) to mammals, but that these are formed from only one billion DNA base pairs compared to almost three billion DNA pairs in humans.

Launch of Development Gateway for the Asia-Pacific region

The Australian Government has recently launched its own development gateway to provide users with instant access to Australian experience in development issues relevant to the Asia-Pacific region. The Australian portal currently focuses on agriculture, education, governance, health, information technology, and water, and it has been designed to encourage development professionals to exchange information through a variety of interactive features, including directories and discussion forums. The Australian Development Gateway is part of a network of over fifty country gateways established under the umbrella of the global Development Gateway Foundation. It is the first gateway to be built by an OECD country and it is a key project of the Virtual Colombo Plan, a joint initiative between the Australian Government and the World Bank to encourage distance learning and bridge the digital divide.
www.developmentgateway.com.au/

credit:M Clausen, FAO

Turning the tide against Afghan opium production

The UK has recently pledged over US$6 million to fund a two-year FAO project to help eliminate opium production in Afghanistan. The funding is for the first phase of a $25.5 million five-year multidonor programme to support alternative agricultural livelihoods in poppy-producing provinces. Over 1.5 million Afghan people, many living in remote areas, are directly dependent on growing opium poppies. The yields from this illicit but lucrative crop currently supply more than four-fifths (87%) of global opium production (see also News 04-2) although only a small proportion of the revenue generated is received by the farmers who grow it.

But a major part of the poppy problem lies in the lack of alternatives, as few crops can provide the same returns. One possible alternative, however, may lie in industrial hemp, which is at the heart of a plan put forward by Spirit Aid, a UK-based development agency. Hemp is not only nutritionally rich but it provides valuable biomass and fibre. And, says Marc Deely of Spirit Aid, those who depend on the 90,000 ha of land dedicated to opium poppies could instead be able to cultivate industrial hemp to provide heating, shelter, food as well as an alternative source of revenue. (see report on bbc.co.uk)

Rare cactus to provide new slimming products

A plant used by the San bushmen of the Kalahari in southern Africa to suppress hunger may become the latest slimming product in the West. Multinational company Unilever has recently signed a £20 billion deal with botanical firm Phytopharm for the commercial rights to use the hoodia plant, a rare cactus that survives in high temperatures but takes years to mature. The plant is already threatened and it is illegal to export it but Unilever intend to set up large farms to produce sufficient quantities of the ingredient required for a range of new food and drink slimming products. The molecule responsible for the hoodia's renowned properties is known as P57, which stimulates the brain in much the same way that blood glucose does after a meal resulting in the feeling of being full. The P57molecule, however, is 10,000 times more active than glucose with the result that hunger is suppressed for longer. The new deal should also benefit the San people with part of the deal and a fraction of product sales to be paid into a trust used for education and buying back land that historically belonged to the Kalahari bushmen.

credit:D.Grzywacz, NRI

The worm turns in Tanzania

A biopesticide, which has proved as effective as synthetic pesticides against the armyworm caterpillar pest, has attracted the attention of the Government of Tanzania. The migrant pest occurs in large outbreaks attacking maize crops, a key staple in Tanzania and in the past has been managed by synthetic pesticides provided by donors. However, a collaborative research team has developed biological control using nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) with funding from DFID's Crop Protection Programme. The results of over four years of research have culminated in a biopesticide that has proved very effective at managing the armyworm numbers. The team has shown that this safe biological alternative to chemicals can be produced using simple field production techniques. Confirmation has recently been given by the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture agreeing to its use for armyworm control. The research team is now looking at methods for making sufficient quantities of the biopesticide, and it is hoped that this may be achieved by local cottage industries, which would provide valuable employment for rural people.
www.cpp.uk.com

Global cereal production at record high

Global cereal production is forecast to hit record levels of over 2 billion tonnes in 2004, which would lead to a significant surplus - the first for over five years. According to an FAO report, world cereal stocks are expected to rise to over 400 million tonnes by the close of the 2004-05 season, with the bulk of the increase in maize. Wheat reserves are forecast to increase slightly although rice stocks are expected to decline. The healthy surplus will be despite a predicted rise (2.4 per cent) in global cereal consumption in 2004-05, attributed mainly to increasing demand for cereal use in livestock feed.

A new eco-label for organic flowers

A new eco-label for flowers, VerifloraTM, has been launched in the US in a bid to convince customers to buy organically grown cut flowers and ornamentals. Supported by growers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers, the VerifloraTM standard establishes good agricultural practice from soil preparation and planting, through to harvest and post-production handling, including fair labour practices. BioGarden, a small flower farm in Ecuador, is currently the only US-certified organic flower grower supplying roses, canna lillies and other flowers through Organic Bouquet, an internet-based delivery service which was established to provide customers with socially and environmentally responsible products. Founded by Gerald Prolman, he has also been instrumental in helping to establish the VerifloraTM eco-label specifically for the US flower industry. Eco-labels for flowers have already been established in Europe, Colombia and most recently in Ecuador but all so far have failed to make an impact on American shoppers.

Further culls for South Africa's ostrich farms

More than 2000 ostriches have recently had to be culled on three neighbouring farms near Graaff-Reinet, in South Africa's Eastern Cape ,as a precaution against the spread of avian flu after birds on one of the farms contracted the disease. This latest culling is the third major operation since avian flu was first detected in South Africa in August 2004 (see News 04-5). The Department of Agriculture has been compensating farmers for all ostriches culled, but breeding stock is generally irreplaceable. So far, nearly 24,000 ostriches as well as some domestic birds have been killed, and the industry has lost an estimated 150-180 million Rand (US $26-31 million) as major importers, such as the EU, have banned ostrich products. Local consumption of ostrich meat has, however, increased as a result of a marketing campaign by the ostrich industry to stimulate demand.

credit:Reid Frederick, USDA

Soyabean high in the US but trouble looms ahead

Soyabean production in the US has been projected at an all-time high of over 85 million tonnes for 2004-05. However future production, particularly in southern states, is threatened by the recent arrival of a fungal disease, which is affecting all soyabean varieties. Asian soyabean rust was first recorded in two research plots run by Louisiana State University in early November 2004. The disease, which attacks leaves and stunts development of bean pods, destroyed crops in South America last year and the spores are believed to have been carried from here by one or more of the recent hurricanes which have affected the southern states of America. The disease affects more than soyabeans; spores also attack blackeye peas, a staple of the south, lima beans and some clovers. Although fungicides can be used against the rust, treatment has to be applied early and can be expensive. If the disease proves to be uncontrollable, it is predicted that a state's entire soyabean crop could be destroyed within a few days.
Further information: www.nal.usda.gov/ref/soyrust.html

Making a connection: telecentres in Peru

A pilot scheme just north of the Peruvian capital of Lima has established 14 telecentres to provide information on market prices and trends. The Agricultural Information Project for Farmers of the Chancay-Haural Valley uses affordable computer equipment and wireless technology to interconnect 12 of the telecentres. The NGO, Cepes (Peruvian Centre for Social Studies) has led the three-year project, which has been backed by local institutions, the Education and Agriculture ministries and European development organisations. The project has also provided training on computers and internet skills for both operators and users of the system, and farmers are taking lessons on how to apply the information to make the most of their plots of land. (See also Communication to energise agriculture).

Iran's prize-winning soil scientist

Mohammad J. Malakouti of Tarbiat Modarres University, Tehran has been awarded the 2004 TWAS (Academy of Sciences for the Developing World) prize for agricultural science. Malakouti's research has focused on developing balanced fertilizer regimes for Iran's major crops. During the 1980s and early 1990s, mineral fertilizer consumption in Iran did not take into account the nutritional capacity of the local soils or the specific needs of crops such as apples, grapes and wheat. Studying the nation's soils, Malakouti advised changing the (N:P:K) ratio of applied synthetic fertilizers from 100:85:03 to 100:45:23, so reducing the proportion of phosphorus and increasing that of potassium. He also recommended adding 2 per cent micro-nutrients to the mixture. Thanks to Malakouti's research and extension, and despite the persistent droughts of the past few years, farmers in Iran's main agricultural areas are now achieving yield increases of 25 to 45 per cent compared to five years ago.

Bio-diesel: green energy for Kenya?

If bio-diesel trials completed recently in Kenya are scaled up to commercial scale, it will have long term benefits for agriculture and impact on poverty alleviation in the country. In the trial, 100 per cent bio-diesel was used in a mill for grinding maize. Bio diesel, a vegetable oil based alternative to petroleum-based diesel, may be obtained from cotton, jatropha, coconut, hemp and sunflower, dramatically reducing greenhouse gas omissions, with source crops grown on marginal degraded land, it could benefit Kenya through creating a significant source of bio-fuel for domestic use and export. In the process of manufacturing bio-diesel, useful by-products include seed cake for animal feed, organic fertilizer, soap oil for herbal soap production and glycerine for use in pharmaceutical resins and plastics.

The overall smoke forming potential of bio-diesel is almost 50 per cent less than diesel fuel, with sulphur emissions eliminated. There are also reductions of unburned hydrocarbons by 93 per cent, carbon monoxide by 50 per cent and particular matter by 30 per cent. Ken Aduda, Principal Research Scientist for the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) says the Ministry of Energy is positive that the project will prove environmentally friendly and cost effective. The trick is, says Odidi, figuring out if the primary bio-diesel products can be grown commercially and if its fuel oil price is competitive enough that a local farmer can grow it and make a profit.

1^st January 2005