September 2004 Bangladeshi Farmers Take on Role of Scientists and Banish Insecticides Imagine 2,000 poor rice farmers in Dhaka, whose average farm income is around US$100 per year, suddenly taking on the role of agricultural scientists. CGIAR Dialog with New Member States of European Union "Agriculture in Change" was the theme of a dialogue held with representatives of ten new member states of the European Union (EU) in Paris in June. New Japan Forum Launched In a major development, a new "Japan Forum on International Agricultural Research for Sustainable Development (J-FARD)" was launched in July 2004. Japanese Fellowship Program The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has launched a Japan-CGIAR Fellowship Program designed to support Japanese scientists to expand their expertise in international agricultural research for development. China's Timber Imports Following the death in 1998 of more than 4,000 people due to floods blamed on excessive deforestation, China implemented a widespread ban on logging. Meet Ruben G. Echeverria Ruben Echeverria joins the CGIAR Science Council as Executive Director. Java's Forest Reserves Survival of one of Java's last remaining biologically-rich natural forests will depend as much on incentives from community stewardship as it does on traditional government conservation programs. Sticking Together IITA scientists are not generally in the business of breaking up partnerships, but they make an exception when the partnership is between two insects that combine to destroy essential food crops. Challenge Programs and Property Rights Managing intellectual property rights (IPRs) will be a critical factor in the success of the new CGIAR Challenge Programs (CPs), ensuring that poor people have unfettered access to the benefits of modern science. From the Science Council Chair A message from Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Science Council Chair. Seeing is Believing On a rainy afternoon earlier this year, 25 journalists gathered under makeshift tents on a banana farm near Masaka, a town about 80 miles southwest of Kampala, to listen to farmers describe how agricultural science increased their prosperity. Philippines Develops Miracle Peanut Using ICRISAT parental lines, Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in the Philippines, has developed its first high yielding peanut variety which can be grown in any of the country's seven regions any time of the year. Good News from the Field The Government of Côte d'Ivoire approved the return of the Africa Rice Center (WARDA) staff to Bouaké, and has established an Inter-Ministerial Commission to provide the conducive environment for scientists and staff to resume their research-for-development activities in Bouaké and M'bé. Milk and Dairy Markets in Syria Milk and dairy products, particularly cheese, are an integral component of diets in the Levant. High demand for these products, particularly in village markets, represents an important source of livelihoods for poor people. HarvestPlus Sometimes little things make all the difference. Micronutrient malnutrition is now firmly on the agricultural research agenda as HarvestPlus weaves together agriculture and nutrition sciences as part of its mission to biofortify staple foods. It is a new way of doing business in the CGIAR. Kenya Prepares to Grow Insect-Resistant Maize Every year, stem borers voraciously consume 400,000 tons of maize, causing an estimated $72 million in losses for Kenya. That sum represents over 12 percent of the farmers' annual harvest.