Experts from public, private and non-profit research sectors emphasized the importance of working together, the need for supportive regulations and increased technical capabilities to enable a One CGIAR to use Gene Editing for exponential crop improvement to meet its 2030 goals. These views were voiced during the opening session of a five-part global webinar series that began last week. Setting the context for the session and the series itself, Dr Jacqueline Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT, in her opening remarks, recounted the beginnings of gene editing in crops and underscored the immense untapped potential of the technology by referring to what has been accomplished as the tip of what is possible with gene editing.

1. NewsletterHappenings
In-house version 1 October 2020, No.1874
Experts from public, private and
non-profit research sectors
emphasized the importance of
working together, the need for
supportive regulations and
increased technical capabilities to
enable a One CGIAR to use Gene
Editing for exponential crop
improvement to meet its 2030
goals. These views were voiced
during the opening session of a
five-part global webinar series
that began last week.
Setting the context for the session
and the series itself, Dr Jacqueline
Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT,
in her opening remarks,
recounted the beginnings of gene editing in crops and
underscored the immense untapped potential of the
technology by referring to what has been accomplished
as the tip of what is possible with gene editing.
Dr Hughes also drew attention to differences across the
globe in regulation of gene editing technologies and the
need for creating societal acceptance. “There is no
internationally agreed regulatory framework for gene
editing. It is going to be very hard to make an impact
with such a fragmented approach. We need science
based predictable proportional regulations with clear
timelines to encourage innovations in food and
agricultural systems. The societal concerns stem in part
from lack of understanding of gene editing principles
and application,” she said.
Dr Marco Ferroni, Chair, CGIAR System Board,
moderated the session. In his opening address,
Dr Ferroni urged CG centers to work without
duplication, share expertise and infrastructure to realize
CGIAR’s vision of a world without hunger, poverty and
environmental degradation while ensuring affordability
of food. He also announced the creation of a One CGIAR
Community of Practice on Genome Editing and New
Breeding Techniques in Agriculture. The COP aims to
bring together experts and teams working in genome
editing and provides a platform for interactions about
specific issues in the domain.
Let’s talk Gene Editing
A One CGIAR initiative to unlock the potential of gene editing for agriculture
Highlighting the role of partnerships, funding and
supportive regulatory systems to realize the full
potential of gene editing, Dr Ferroni pointed to
Columbia’s recent recognition of CGIAR’s gene edited
rice lines as conventional lines.
“It is heartening to note that 20 CGIAR lines edited to
confer resistance to xanthomonas (blight causing
bacteria) were declared in Columbia as conventional
breeding lines. It is a big story and a result of
partnership between many institutions,” he said and
termed the development a “trailblazing” first for CGIAR.
In his talk, Dr Robert Bertram, Chief Scientist in USAID’s
Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, lauded science
and technologies delivered through the Green
Revolution for driving higher productivity and lowering
cost of food in the face of a growing population.
“If we didn’t have intensification and had
extensification, with a steep bottom-line on cropland,
we would have had no poverty reduction, a must-have
to realize SDGs,” he said. “Agricultural growth is up to
four times more effective in reducing poverty than other
types of economic growth because it drives demand for
locally produced goods.”
After showing the annual yield gains needed in maize
and wheat to keep food prices constant as population
A screenshot from the first webinar. From top left to bottom right: Dr Lafitte,
Dr Gutterson, Dr Bertram, Dr Mashingaidze, Dr Hughes and Dr Pooja Bhatnagar,
Theme Leader - Cell, Molecular Biology & Genetic Engineering at ICRISAT.
Photo: ICRISAT