A draft amendment to China’s Seed Law was submitted to the legislature for a second reading at the start of the bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People’s Congress on October 30, 2015. The amendment removes the barriers for those applying for a seed production and trade license as the government hopes to stimulate innovation at the industry-level so China can compete with other countries. Continue reading…

Source: Crop Biotech Update  (www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate)

The European Parliament rejected the draft EU law that allows any EU member state to ban or restrict the sale or use of EU-approved GM product in its territory. Members are concerned that if the law is approved, it would lead to reintroduction of border checks between pro- and anti-GMO countries. They asked the Commission to draft a new proposal about the issue. Continue reading…

Source: Crop Biotech Update  (www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate)

Source: Crop Biotech Update

The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) has requested to withdraw the backup seeds that they deposited in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault to restart their collection away from the ongoing conflict in their previous home in Aleppo, Syria. ICARDA is currently based in Beirut, Lebanon, and requesting seeds from their gene bank in Aleppo is getting more and more difficult.

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