For
further information contact: CIAT
|
 Last
update: 2 May 2008
|
|
|
US Patent
Office Rejects US Company's Patent Protection for Bean Commonly
Grown by Latin American Farmers
Controversial Court Patent Case for Simple Yellow Legume
has Become Rallying Point for "Biopiracy" Concerns
 The
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today rejected
all of the patent claims for a common yellow bean that has
been a familiar staple in Latin American diets for more than
a century.
See the News Release
|
|
|
Partnership
with TTDI to Enhance Cassava Production and Farmer Livelihoods
in Thailand
CIAT scientists are developing new cassava varieties that
will enable smallholder farmers in Thailand to produce more
revenue. A five-year collaboration with Bangkok-based Thai
Tapioca Development Institute (TTDI) aims to adapt cassava
to growing conditions in Thailand while optimizing its marketability.
See the News Release
|
|
|
Research Examines
Seed-Aid Effectiveness
Findings Already Influencing Policies of Donor and Recipient
Governments
 Emergency
seed aid, a critical intervention during times of crisis for
farmers in the developing world, has had a range of unexpected
effects— and the easiest solution, seed handouts, is
rarely the best, according to a new paper published today
in The Journal of Development Studies.
See the News Release
|
|
|
Dr. Hawtin Continues
as CIAT DG
 The
Board of Trustees of CIAT unanimously confirmed the continued
appointment of Dr. Geoff Hawtin as CIAT Director General (DG)
pending the selection of a new DG in early 2009.
See the News Release
|
|
Colombia
Ships Seeds of Staple Food Crops to the
Svalbard Global Seed Vault for Safeguarding
Colombia is participating in one of the world's most ambitious
projects. Known as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, the project
aims to preserve, safe from any catastrophe, humanity's agricultural
heritage.
See the News Release
|
|
CIAT
Annual Report 2006-2007
 Our
2006-2007 corporate annual report is already online. The report
covers the different projects carried out by CIAT in Latin
America, Africa, and Asia, with the collaboration of numerous
partners that share our mission of mitigating hunger and poverty
in the tropics.
Download the report:
Full
color (1288 kb).
Text
only (408 kb).
|
|
The Rural Innovation Institute Foundation
Will not Continue
Six months after announcing its creation, the Rural Innovation
Institute Foundation suspended its activities definitively,
as announced by its Executive Director Jacqueline Ashby.
The promoters of this initiative were CIAT, the Colombian
Corporation for Agricultural Research (CORPOICA), and the
AlvarAlice Foundation of Cali, Colombia.
See the News Release
|
|
CIAT Appoints New Interim Director
General
Geoff Hawtin, a British-Canadian scientist and expert in
plant genetic resources, will be the new Interim Director
General of CIAT, in replacement of anthropologist Joachim
Voss, who will retire in January 2008.
See the News Release
|
|
Restructuring Research at CIAT to
Better Address New Challenges
CIAT reorganized its research agenda to increase its competitiveness
and generate new products of world coverage.The agenda that
for many years focused on 14 major projects in multiple areas
will now concentrate on six product-based programs (knowledge
and technologies) that aim to support the poor farmers of
the tropics in their pursuit of a more competitive agriculture.
See the News Release
|
| Farms
Will Now Produce Biofuels
Innovative project carried out by
CIAT to empower small farmers
Coffee pulp is commonly used to fertilize crops, but can
you imagine a small farmer taking advantage of this waste
to produce fuel for his motorcycle?
CIAT does envision this possibility and is conducting a pilot-scale
project in several areas of Colombia that mainly aims to develop
low-cost innovative systems to produce bioethanol (fuel alcohol),
biodiesel, and pure vegetable oil that will generate rural
employment while protecting the environment by reducing air
pollution.
See the News Release
|
