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Date: July 31, 2008
Contacts: Jennifer Walsh, Media Relations Officer
Luwam Yeibio, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail <news@nas.edu>
for immediate Release
Promising Technologies Identified to Improve Farming
In Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
WASHINGTON -- A new report by the National Research Council today identified a list of emerging technologies that may significantly boost agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Aiming to find innovations with the potential to transform crop and animal production and markets in the two regions, the report explores a range of technologies -- some that are years from being implemented to others that are available now but not widely applied in these regions.
"In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, nearly 75 percent of the people who live in dire poverty -- on less than $1 per day -- rely on agriculture to feed and support themselves," said Brian A. Larkins, chair of the committee that wrote the report, and associate vice chancellor for research and the John F. Davidson and Marian J. Fuller Chair in Life Sciences at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. "Although technology is one of many factors that determine a farmer's success, the right technological tools could allow small-holder farmers to significantly increase their agricultural output, income, and family welfare. A systemwide approach to improve all elements of food production is needed, and scientists locally and worldwide need to play a role in developing and applying new technologies."
Of the 60 technologies identified in the report, the committee recommended that nine be immediately developed into agricultural applications for sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and nine other "early-stage" technologies undergo further analysis to better ascertain their potential and feasibility. The nine available for immediate development are listed below, in no particular order.
· Soil management systems
· Water management techniques
· Climate and weather prediction tools
· Sequencing of plant genes
· Genetic-based animal breeding
· Plant-based gene silencing
· Biocontrol and biopesticides
· Disease-suppressive soils
· Animal vaccines
The nine additional early-stage technologies are nanomaterials for the slow release of fertilizer; optimized plant root structure and associated microbes; site-specific gene integration; remote sensing of plants to determine growth and nutrient use; enhanced microbial digestion of fiber in the rumen to improve livestock nutrition; spermatagonial stem cell transplantation; solar photovoltaic and solar thermal energy; photosynthetic microbe-based biofuels; and energy storage devices that are alternatives to batteries. A public meeting with committee members to discuss the findings of the report will be held in September in Washington, D.C.
The report was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's agricultural development initiative. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies. They are private, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under a congressional charter. The Research Council is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. A committee roster follows.
Copies of Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are available from the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above).
[ This news release and report are available at http://national-academies.org ]
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Division on Earth and Life Studies
Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources
Committee on a Study of Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Africa and South Asia
Brian A. Larkins * (chair)
The John F. Davidson and Marian J. Fuller Chair in Life Sciences
Department of Plant Sciences
University of Nebraska
Lincoln
Steven P. Briggs *
Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla
Deborah P. Delmer *
Associate Director of Food Security
Rockefeller Foundation (retired)
New York City
Richard P. Dick
Eminent Scholar in Soil Microbial Ecology
College of Natural Resources
Ohio State University
Columbus
Richard B. Flavell
Chief Scientific Officer
Ceres Inc.
Thousand Oaks, C.alif.
Jonathan Gressel
Professor Emeritus of Plant Sciences
Weizmann Institute of Science
Rehovot, Israel
Tsegaye Habtemariam
Dean
College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee, Ala.
Rattan Lal
Professor of Soil Sciences
Ohio State University
Columbus
Alice N. Pell
Vice Provost for International Relations,
Director
Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture, and Development (CIIFAD), and
Professor of Animal Science,
Cornell University
Ithaca, N.Y.
Raymond J. St. Leger
Professor of Entomology
University of Maryland
College Park
Robert J. Wall
Research Physiologist
Animal Biosciences and Biotechnology Laboratory
U.S. Department of Agriculture; and
Adjunct Faculty Member
University of Maryland
Beltsville
RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
Robin Schoen
Board Director
Michael Ma
Visiting Program Officer
Peggy Tsai
Associate Program Officer
Ruthie Arieti
Senior Program Assistant
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