Feed the Future Eggplant Improvement Partnership Progress Report: Year 1, Third Quarter

The partnership focuses on increasing access to high-quality Bt brinjal seed, educating farmers on proper stewardship practices, and developing a strong dossier on Bt eggplant for Philippine regulators. In Bangladesh, BARI has produced a total of 661 kilograms of breeder seeds for four Bt brinjal varieties over 12 field stations. The breeder seeds meet quality parameters, including pure seed percentage, inert matter percentage, other seed percentage, germination percentage, and moisture content percentage. The production of breeder seeds is a significant achievement, as it will enable the distribution of Bt brinjal seeds to farmers. In the Philippines, the first peer-reviewed paper resulting from work funded by USAID on Bt eggplant was published in PLoS ONE on June 20, 2016. The paper provides clear evidence of the effectiveness of Bt eggplant and can be used in regulatory submissions and communication strategies. The study demonstrated almost complete control of the fruit and shoot borer without sprays, highlighting the potential of Bt eggplant for pesticide reduction and enhanced economic income. The partnership has also made significant progress in communication efforts, with the website 'Bteggplant.cornell.edu' serving as an important tool for presenting the project to a wide audience. The website contains vital information about the project and its organization, as well as valuable assets such as a video featuring Bt brinjal farmers sharing their stories about the value of this technology. The communication team has been effective in advancing science-based knowledge about the value of Bt eggplant and distributing it through multimedia outlets. Regulatory affairs have also been a key focus area, with Dr. Karen Hokanson joining the leadership team in May and quickly putting together a team of experts and a timetable of regulatory activities for Bangladesh and the Philippines. Dr. Hokanson and her team visited Bangladesh in July, and her travel report is included in the appendix. Despite the progress made, several challenges remain, including completing baseline susceptibility studies in Bangladesh, publishing results of pesticide reduction with Bt eggplant in Bangladesh, and finalizing a licensing agreement between BARI and Mahyco. The partnership emphasizes the importance of completing studies and publishing them in peer-reviewed journals to demonstrate the value of Bt eggplant and its potential for pesticide reduction and enhanced economic income. The partnership's focus for the future is to complete a licensing agreement between BARI and Mahyco, as well as to publish the environmental safety of Bt brinjal in the Philippines and the efficacy and safety studies conducted in Bangladesh. The production of Bt eggplant must be grown by well-trained farmers using good stewardship practices, and the partnership remains committed to achieving this goal.