SciDev.Net

Innovative agricultural technologies can produce crops that meet climate change challenges, says ICRISAT head William Dar.

Six experts, writing in The New York Times, discuss options for ensuring food security in the face of growing populations and climate change.

CGIAR reforms take research decisions too far away, says Hartmann, director-general of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

Intellectual property must be protected to encourage technical innovations in agriculture, says Javier Fernandez of CropLife Latin America.

Moves to introduce biotechnology to Africa must consider the needs and values of local people, argues socioeconomist Wilhemina Quaye.

Helping farm labourers access new technologies and knowledge should be a priority for policymakers, argues innovation expert Anil Gupta.

Agricultural researchers in the North and South must work together to help farmers boost crop yields, says agriculturalist Adel El-Beltagy.

Climate change will make Indian dryland agriculture harder, but a scientific strategy offers real hope, says ICRISAT head William D. Dar.

Essential field trials of GM trees are being hindered by anti-GM activists working through the Convention on Biological Diversity, say Steven H. Strauss and colleagues.

A layered and cooperative approach would help Southern African countries harmonise their biosafety laws, says Julius Mugwagwa.

Translating genetics research is easier in agriculture than medicine, says a Nature Genetics editorial, and existing technologies can be used.

Unproven and patented GM fixes will not help farmers in the South adapt to climate change, say Kathy Jo Wetter and Hope Shand.

Innovation will help feed the world in the twenty first century, but only with political will and social justice, argues Alex Evans.

Ecological engineering could provide better pest control than genetically modified crops, argue Josef Settele and colleagues.

African nations must not only bring industry and activists to the table, but also follow up on their report, says an editorial in Nature.

Biotechnology holds great promise for developing countries, but only if they build up their scientific capacity, says TWAS fellow Indira Nath.

Biotechnology is only one of a set of approaches needed to solve the world's problems, says an editorial in Nature Biotechnology.

G8 leaders must encourage cooperation in biotechnology to address Africa's food shortages, writes Calestous Juma.

Africa needs a Green Revolution, including local research into genetically engineered crops for small farmers, says Robert Paarlberg.

Small farmers could beat increasing prices in food and fertiliser by producing more of their own crops at lower cost, argues William Dar.