An international team of scientists, funded in the UK by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), has sequenced the genome of a Chinese cabbage variety of a plant called Brassica rapa, a close relative of oilseed rape.

Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF) will invest up to US$8.2 million (SGD$10 million) over five years in a new rice research program to help ensure there is enough rice to meet the future demands of Singapore and the region.

Genetically-modified plants could bolster global food supply which is being challenged by rapid climatic changes and rising population levels.

World food prices fell 2 per cent in September, reflecting higher grain supplies and weakened demand, according to FAO.

In 2010, just 15 years after the first biotech crops were commercialized, farmers in 29 countries planted and produced biotech crops on 148 million hectares (366 million acres), according to a report published earlier this year by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).