I'd always wondered when gene-hacking would get taken up in the third world. Hey, it beats starving...
«But before environmentalists or globalisation demonstrators protest at yet more science in the pockets of big business, they should note that the other winner [in the rice genome sequencing project] was the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI). [...] More than a billion people live on less than $1 a day and that usually buys rice. [...] Genetic engineering to generate varieties resistant to disease, pests, drought or salinity could revolutionise third world farming.»-- "Sowing the seeds of a better future: Ignore the doubters. GM crops can help to feed the world"
That's quite surprising. The green revolution started in the 70's. Is it time for another revolution in rice farming?[BGI using] Genetic engineering to generate varieties resistant to disease, pests, drought or salinity could revolutionise third world farming.
The International Rice Research Institute in the Phillipines has been cataloging thousands of different strains of rice for the last 20 years at least. They've also been breeding, cross-fertilizing and creating new strains of rice to improve yield and suitability for specific climates and palates. From what I've read (admittedly many years ago), IRRI has been funded from all over Asia for a long time, and has been delivering on what BGI is promising.
It'll certainly be interesting to see how long it takes BGI to ramp up, and how long it takes them deliver more than IRRI has done with simple (and labor-intensive) cross-breeding practices.
