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BULLETIN 1
COP30: FAO warns climate funding gap threatens agrifood systems transformation
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Figure: At COP30, FAO will emphasize that science-based agrifood solutions can play a pivotal role in reducing emissions, enhancing carbon sequestration, restoring ecosystems, and strengthening resilience - all while ensuring food security and nutrition for the 1.2 billion people whose livelihoods depend on these systems. ©FAO/Max Valencia
FAO News 07/11/2025
Belém, Brazil – Transforming global agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable is critical to meeting the Paris Agreement targets on climate change. Yet, the persistent shortfall in climate finance represents “a lost opportunity” for a sector that could cut global emissions by up to one-third.
This was the message delivered by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Friday at the Belém Climate summit.
Convened by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Summit brought together world leaders, ministers and representatives of international organizations to discuss solutions for tackling the climate crisis through fair and sustainable energy transitions, as well as forest and biodiversity conservation. The meeting was held ahead of the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), scheduled for 10–21 November in Belém, Brazil.
At COP30, FAO will emphasize that science-based agrifood solutions can play a pivotal role in reducing emissions, enhancing carbon sequestration, restoring ecosystems, and strengthening resilience - all while ensuring food security and nutrition for the 1.2 billion people whose livelihoods depend on these systems.
“From restoration of degraded agricultural lands to resilient crops and sustainable aquaculture and livestock, we have the solutions that deliver across sectors,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu in a speech delivered on his behalf to the Summit’s General Plenary Leaders Dialogue meeting in Belém.
In Brazil’s Amazon region, for example, agroforestry projects are restoring degraded lands while supporting local communities – a triple win for biodiversity and food diversity, for food security, and for the climate.
But potential alone is not enough. Investment remains far below what is needed to deliver agrifood systems transformation at scale. Despite increased funding from the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility, forestry, livestock, fisheries, and crop production together received only 4 percent of total climate-related development finance in 2023.
“For a sector that can deliver a third of global emission reductions, this gap is not only unequal – it is a lost opportunity. By overlooking agrifood systems, we are leaving one of the most effective pathways to low-emission growth untapped,” Qu said.
Call to Action on Integrated Fire Management and Wildfire Resilience
On Thursday, the FAO Director-General addressed a COP30 thematic session on forests and oceans that marked the launch of the Call to Action on Integrated Fire Management and Wildfire Resilience, an initiative aimed at shifting from reactive fire suppression to proactive, preventive strategies through integrated fire management.
Spearheaded by Brazil and endorsed by 50 countries, along with FAO, the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Call to Action urges governments to move beyond reactive fire suppression toward integrated fire management, emphasizing prevention and preparedness through a combination of scientific and traditional knowledge and modern technologies.
The framework includes 22 strategic actions to scale up wildfire prevention, empower local communities, and strengthen cross-border cooperation. It recognizes the FAO-hosted Global Fire Management Hub as a key delivery mechanism for the Call to Action in close coordination with countries and regional fire-management networks.
FAO at COP30
FAO sees COP30 as a critical moment to advance global efforts to address the impacts of the climate crisis while ensuring food security and nutrition for present and future generations. The Organization continues to work with countries and partners to ensure that agriculture and food security remain at the centre of negotiations, including discussions on the Global Goal on Adaptation, loss and damage, nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), climate finance, technology and just transition.
FAO is also supporting the COP30 Presidency’s Action Agenda, including new initiatives on agriculture, forests, and bioeconomy. The Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) Partnership, hosted by FAO, will continue to serve as a COP-to-COP mechanism, ensuring agrifood systems remain central to COP dialogues and supporting Presidency initiatives in post-COP implementation. Through the FAST Partnership, FAO is supporting the Resilient Agriculture Investment for net Zero land degradation (RAIZ) accelerator, a global effort under the COP Presidency’s Action Agenda to unlock investments for the restoration of degraded agricultural land.
Building on the Call to Action on Integrated Fire Management and Wildfire Resilience, the FAO-hosted Global Fire Management Hub directly supports the COP30 Action Agenda objective on efforts to conserve, protect and restore ecosystems.
FAO is also co-hosting the Food and Agriculture Pavilion for the fourth consecutive year with CGIAR, promoting multistakeholder dialogue within and alongside the negotiations, and contributing to the Forest Pavilion in its role as Chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.
Throughout the Conference, FAO will promote or launch a series of publications and policy briefs. These include an update on the interactions between agriculture, food systems, and climate change, an analysis of Global National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), a report on climate-related development finance to agrifood systems, as well as research on the climate benefits of forests and trees for agriculture, and on extreme heat and agriculture.
See https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/cop30--fao-warns-climate-funding-gap-threatens-agrifood-systems-transformation/en
This was the message delivered by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Friday at the Belém Climate summit.
Convened by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Summit brought together world leaders, ministers and representatives of international organizations to discuss solutions for tackling the climate crisis through fair and sustainable energy transitions, as well as forest and biodiversity conservation. The meeting was held ahead of the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), scheduled for 10–21 November in Belém, Brazil.
At COP30, FAO will emphasize that science-based agrifood solutions can play a pivotal role in reducing emissions, enhancing carbon sequestration, restoring ecosystems, and strengthening resilience - all while ensuring food security and nutrition for the 1.2 billion people whose livelihoods depend on these systems.
“From restoration of degraded agricultural lands to resilient crops and sustainable aquaculture and livestock, we have the solutions that deliver across sectors,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu in a speech delivered on his behalf to the Summit’s General Plenary Leaders Dialogue meeting in Belém.
In Brazil’s Amazon region, for example, agroforestry projects are restoring degraded lands while supporting local communities – a triple win for biodiversity and food diversity, for food security, and for the climate.
But potential alone is not enough. Investment remains far below what is needed to deliver agrifood systems transformation at scale. Despite increased funding from the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility, forestry, livestock, fisheries, and crop production together received only 4 percent of total climate-related development finance in 2023.
“For a sector that can deliver a third of global emission reductions, this gap is not only unequal – it is a lost opportunity. By overlooking agrifood systems, we are leaving one of the most effective pathways to low-emission growth untapped,” Qu said.
Call to Action on Integrated Fire Management and Wildfire Resilience
On Thursday, the FAO Director-General addressed a COP30 thematic session on forests and oceans that marked the launch of the Call to Action on Integrated Fire Management and Wildfire Resilience, an initiative aimed at shifting from reactive fire suppression to proactive, preventive strategies through integrated fire management.
Spearheaded by Brazil and endorsed by 50 countries, along with FAO, the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Call to Action urges governments to move beyond reactive fire suppression toward integrated fire management, emphasizing prevention and preparedness through a combination of scientific and traditional knowledge and modern technologies.
The framework includes 22 strategic actions to scale up wildfire prevention, empower local communities, and strengthen cross-border cooperation. It recognizes the FAO-hosted Global Fire Management Hub as a key delivery mechanism for the Call to Action in close coordination with countries and regional fire-management networks.
FAO at COP30
FAO sees COP30 as a critical moment to advance global efforts to address the impacts of the climate crisis while ensuring food security and nutrition for present and future generations. The Organization continues to work with countries and partners to ensure that agriculture and food security remain at the centre of negotiations, including discussions on the Global Goal on Adaptation, loss and damage, nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), climate finance, technology and just transition.
FAO is also supporting the COP30 Presidency’s Action Agenda, including new initiatives on agriculture, forests, and bioeconomy. The Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) Partnership, hosted by FAO, will continue to serve as a COP-to-COP mechanism, ensuring agrifood systems remain central to COP dialogues and supporting Presidency initiatives in post-COP implementation. Through the FAST Partnership, FAO is supporting the Resilient Agriculture Investment for net Zero land degradation (RAIZ) accelerator, a global effort under the COP Presidency’s Action Agenda to unlock investments for the restoration of degraded agricultural land.
Building on the Call to Action on Integrated Fire Management and Wildfire Resilience, the FAO-hosted Global Fire Management Hub directly supports the COP30 Action Agenda objective on efforts to conserve, protect and restore ecosystems.
FAO is also co-hosting the Food and Agriculture Pavilion for the fourth consecutive year with CGIAR, promoting multistakeholder dialogue within and alongside the negotiations, and contributing to the Forest Pavilion in its role as Chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.
Throughout the Conference, FAO will promote or launch a series of publications and policy briefs. These include an update on the interactions between agriculture, food systems, and climate change, an analysis of Global National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), a report on climate-related development finance to agrifood systems, as well as research on the climate benefits of forests and trees for agriculture, and on extreme heat and agriculture.
See https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/cop30--fao-warns-climate-funding-gap-threatens-agrifood-systems-transformation/en
BULLETIN 2
Rice-specific miRNA Boosts Rice Blast Resistance
Rice-specific miRNA Boosts Rice Blast Resistance
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ISAAA 29 October 2025
The natural defenses of plants rely on tiny molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs), and scientists are still finding new ones that help plants fight off diseases. In a study published in The Plant Journal, Sichuan Agricultural University researchers discovered a crucial player in the defense of rice plants against a devastating fungus called rice blast (Magnaporthe oryzae). This new helper is a small molecule we named miR24584. When rice plants were naturally resistant to the fungus, they produced a lot of this molecule. However, susceptible plants produced very little. When we genetically modified rice to produce extra miR24584, the plants became highly resistant to different strains of the fungus, confirming its role as a powerful defender.
Furthermore, the researchers elucidated the mechanism of miR24584 in protecting rice. It acts by shutting down a gene called OsJAZ13. This gene is normally a brake on the plant's immune system, specifically on a defense pathway called jasmonate signaling. By suppressing OsJAZ13, miR24584 essentially releases the brakes on the JA defense system. Activating this defense not only boosts the overall immune response but also significantly strengthens the physical barriers of the plant—like the cell walls—making it much harder for the fungus to invade.
This finding reveals a new, important switch (the miR24584-OsJAZ13 module) that rice uses to turn on its defenses and successfully fight off the blast disease.
Read more from The Plant Journal.
Furthermore, the researchers elucidated the mechanism of miR24584 in protecting rice. It acts by shutting down a gene called OsJAZ13. This gene is normally a brake on the plant's immune system, specifically on a defense pathway called jasmonate signaling. By suppressing OsJAZ13, miR24584 essentially releases the brakes on the JA defense system. Activating this defense not only boosts the overall immune response but also significantly strengthens the physical barriers of the plant—like the cell walls—making it much harder for the fungus to invade.
This finding reveals a new, important switch (the miR24584-OsJAZ13 module) that rice uses to turn on its defenses and successfully fight off the blast disease.
Read more from The Plant Journal.
See https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/ged/article/default.asp?ID=21577
SCIENTIFIC NEWS
Accelerated breeding modernization: a global blueprint for driving genetic gains, climate resilience, and food security in rice
Sanjay K. Katiyar, Reshmi Rani Das, Lekha T. Pazhamala, Jérôme Bartholomé, Girish Chandel, Atugonza Bilaro, Maxwell Darko Asante, Khandakar Md Iftekharuddaula, Mirza M Islam, Ram Baran Yadaw, Ramlakhan Verma, Thati Srinivas, Chandra Mohan Yeshala, Herminio Abade, Viviane Raharinivo & Ruth Musila
Theoretical and Applied Genetics; November 6 2025; vol. 138; article 293
Sanjay K. Katiyar, Reshmi Rani Das, Lekha T. Pazhamala, Jérôme Bartholomé, Girish Chandel, Atugonza Bilaro, Maxwell Darko Asante, Khandakar Md Iftekharuddaula, Mirza M Islam, Ram Baran Yadaw, Ramlakhan Verma, Thati Srinivas, Chandra Mohan Yeshala, Herminio Abade, Viviane Raharinivo & Ruth Musila
Theoretical and Applied Genetics; November 6 2025; vol. 138; article 293
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Key message
ABM-BOx is a mission-critical transformation engine, built to fast-track genetic gains, boost climate resilience, and modernize outdated breeding programs into agile, data-driven, demand-responsive innovation platforms setting a global benchmark.
Abstract
Rice plays a central role in global food security as climate threats continue to rise. Fast-tracking genetic gains and developing climate-resilient, market-preferred varieties require a bold, system-wide transformation of rice breeding practices worldwide. Baseline diagnostics of more than 25 national rice breeding programs across the Global South revealed critical bottlenecks: obsolete breeding strategy and scheme, fragmented workflows, limited technology access, and poor integration of seed system. This highlights the urgent need of breeding modernization to tackle rising food security risks. We introduce Accelerated Breeding Modernization-Breeding and Operational Excellence (ABM-BOx), a globally scalable framework to transform rice breeding programs into modern, data-driven, impact-oriented systems. ABM-BOx operationalizes a paradigm shift by translating the breeder’s equation into real-world impact through two synergistic engines: Breeding Excellence (BE) and Operational Excellence (OE). BE focuses on enhancing genetic gains through demand-driven breeding, strategic parental selection, recurrent population breeding, simulation-driven breeding scheme optimization, genomic selection, and predictive breeding. These strategies increase selection intensity, selection accuracy and shorten the breeding cycle. OE ensures speed, efficiency, and scalability through speed breeding-field based platforms, smart breeding-digital tools, breeding informatics-AI-powered decision tools, strategic costing-optimizing investments, and resilient seed systems. Additionally, Capacity Reinforcement and Functional Transformation-Accelerated Breeding Modernization (CRaFT-ABM) strengthens institutional capacity by focusing on talent, infrastructure, governance, and networks. More than a framework, ABM-BOx is a mission-critical transformation engine that drives innovation, speed, and impact to empower rice breeding efforts globally.
See https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00122-025-05060-1
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Figure 1:
Evolving Dynamics Between CGIAR and NARES Rice Breeding Programs (2020–2030). The figure depicts the shifting alignment between CGIAR global rice breeding and the national programs visualized as word clouds over a decade. In 2020, both systems were closely aligned through shared methodologies and MET-driven evaluation. By 2025, CGIAR’s transition to cyclic, data-driven breeding powered by GS, digital tools, and BE-OE principles created a growing disconnect, as most NARES programs lag in modernization. Without urgent reforms, this gap may widen into structural dissociation by 2030. The figure highlights this trajectory and underscores the critical need to transform NARES programs through adoption of accelerated breeding modernization. Abbreviations: GS, Genomic Selection; MET, Multi-Environment Trial; BMS, Breeding Management System; B4R, Breeding 4 Results; EBS, Enterprise Breeding System; SSD, Single Seed Descent; QTL, Quantitative Trait Locus; NARES, National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems; CGIAR, Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research; BE, Breeding Excellence; and OE, Operational Excellence
