www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

From the green revolution of the 1960s, the buzzword these days among rice
scientists in Asia has shifted to the gene revolution, April 2006 by Dolly
Aglay.

With this in mind, the Philippine-based International Rice Research
Institute is building a .7-million facility for more research on rice genes
and genetically-modified rice and also to train Asian scientists in
biosafety measures.

"This will be quite an important initiative to reflect IRRI?s vision as we
see where this technology and where this transgenic rice technology is
going," the IRRI?s deputy director general for research, Ren Wang, told
Reuters in an interview this week.

"Even now, developing countries continue to show strong interest in
developing and utilising transgenic crop technology," said Wang, at the IRRI
headquarters in Los Ba?os, near Manila.

Several countries in Asia ? including China, India and the Philippines ?
have conducted either research or field trials on GMO rice despite concerns
from environmentalists such as Greenpeace that genetically modified crops
could harm conventional crops.

Iran was the first country to commercialize GMO rice in 2004, but no other
country in Asia has followed suit.

The institute, credited for helping the world feed itself by developing new
rice varieties during the so-called Green Revolution of the 1960s, is also
helping with work on genetically modified Vitamin A enriched rice or "golden
rice."

Golden rice was developed by European scientists by implanting two genes
from a daffodil and one from a bacterium into japonica rice variety called
T309. Samples of the grain were donated to the institute for research and
breeding.

IRRI officials have said they plan to do field-testing on the golden rice
next year.

"We foresee that, at least, it will require another six years before it can
become varieties grown in farmers? fields," Wang said.

Rice feeds about 3 billion people, most of them in Asia.

Scientists have warned that rapid population growth, shrinking space for
farming, lack of water and climate change will stretch rice output in the
next few years.

They have said that developing hardy rice plants that are resistant to pests
or more nutritious rice like golden rice through biotechnology will help
feed more mouths in coming years.

But challenges in the development of GMO rice abound.

"One of the major problems or hurdles for the proper use of exploration of
transgenic rice technology is the lack of this cadre of rice scientists and
leaders in properly managing this technology," Wang said.

[www.mb.com.ph]

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