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2006-12-13 | permalink
More for Less? - The development of hybrid rice in Egypt
Although Asian countries produce the majority of the world’s rice, Egypt is beating out its global competitors when it comes to crop yields. Years of breeding programs have created strains of rice that are high yielding and well adapted to the local environment. With an average of 10 tons of rice per hectare (t/ha), Egypt is now the world’s highest-yielding rice producer, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture’s Rice Research and Training Center (RRTC). [...] Egypt does not ban GM foods, and Tantawi says the Agricultural Research Center is already working with GM organisms (GMOs) “in research conditions.” He says he is not opposed to the use of GMOs in Egypt, arguing, “If we can find good quality seeds with GMOs we will consider them.” Discussions about potential concerns and benefits related to the widespread use of hybrid rice in Egypt are something of a grasp into the dark. The RRTC is still conducting research, hybrid rice is not yet being mass-marketed, and private seed companies are not yet producing hybrid seed.
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2006-12-13 | permalink
More for Less? - The development of hybrid rice in Egypt
Although Asian countries produce the majority of the world’s rice, Egypt is beating out its global competitors when it comes to crop yields. Years of breeding programs have created strains of rice that are high yielding and well adapted to the local environment. With an average of 10 tons of rice per hectare (t/ha), Egypt is now the world’s highest-yielding rice producer, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture’s Rice Research and Training Center (RRTC). [...] Egypt does not ban GM foods, and Tantawi says the Agricultural Research Center is already working with GM organisms (GMOs) “in research conditions.” He says he is not opposed to the use of GMOs in Egypt, arguing, “If we can find good quality seeds with GMOs we will consider them.” Discussions about potential concerns and benefits related to the widespread use of hybrid rice in Egypt are something of a grasp into the dark. The RRTC is still conducting research, hybrid rice is not yet being mass-marketed, and private seed companies are not yet producing hybrid seed.
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