Africa Rice Center is a pan-African rice research organization whose aim is to improve the state of living for Africans through new technology and publicity. Their main crop of interest is rice due to its strategic importance in sustaining populations. Many popular rice varieties farmers use in Africa are susceptible to disease, drought or salinity, which leads to lower crop yield each year. AfricaRice geneticists are employing MAS to improve the degree of resistance the rice varieties have against these environmental conditions, then distributing them to farmers for use. (Citation 46)
The largest population of the hungry are located in regions such as Asia, the Pacific, Africa, other developing countries. Over three-fourths of these hungry people currently live in rural areas, depending solely on argiculture as the source of their food. However, this fragile balance is easily offset by disease, drought, floods, and other environmental factors, leaving many to starve. However, agricultural biotechnologies such
APPLICATIONS: AREAS IN NEED
Last but not least, The World Vegetable Center (AVRDC) holds the Asia-Pacific Symposium on Molecular Breeding each year, with aims to advocate and educate researchers and nations alike of the developing MAS technologies for crop and animal breeding in their area. Bringing over 60 scientists from ten Asia-Pacific countries, the AVRDC hopes to further accelerate the usage of MAS crops in Pacific Asia. (Citation 48)
as MAS and GMOs can be applied to help sustain and nourish those who are in desperate need of food. In fact, some organizations are already employing marker assisted selection to help their country's farmers produce greater yields with resistance to diease and other conditions. (Citation 45)
Kirkhouse Trust is another organization that has been supporting and funding research in MAS for areas in Africa and South Asia. Their focus is to fund projects on types of legumes for third world countries. Backing research labs in a wide variety of regions such as Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, along with research institutes in the US who aim to aid third world countries, the Kirkhouse Trust is an invaluable resource to those who wish to bring an agricultural revolution in impoverished nations. (Citation 47)