PAAAFR set to launch DNA center for agriculture, fish

Bid to promote biodiversity research

Essential entertainment and pearl diving tools used onboard old wooden Kuwaiti

vessels. – Ali Al-Roumi — KUNA KUWAIT CITY, April 15, (KUNA): The Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) has finalized the blueprint of a project to launch a DNA research center for the development of agricultural and fish resources.

The planned center aims to combine DNA technology and biotechnology with a view to increasing the growth efficiency of plants and fish, PAAAFR Director-General Faisal Al-Hasawi said.

“It’s is keeping with the 2035 vision of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for a balanced human and material development through the employment of the latest technologies in the management of natural resources,” he told KUNA. The idea of launching the center stemmed from the PAAAFR fish sector that was concerned with the management of the fish stocks, a main source of food in Kuwait, Al-Hasawi pointed out. Due to the geographical location of the country that gives way to free movement of the fish stocks across the territorial waters of countries in the region, there is a need to trace the migrant fish and shrimps stocks, and identify their age, he said, noting that the center will help do so.

“Besides providing essential knowledge about the country’s national fish and agricultural resources, the center will allow regional cooperation in this field pursuant to the PAAAFR vision for the rehabilitation of the environment and the sustainable development of the flora and fauna life,” Al-Hasawi went on.

PAAAFR presented the blueprint of the project to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Kuwait Direct Promotion Authority (KDIPA).

KDIPA presented the draft to the Cabinet, which approved the launching of the project through the Kuwait In the midst of tough security thousands of Christians poured into the churches across Kuwait on Good Friday to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary, reports a local Arabic daily.

The Good Friday Mass included

Offset Program, he revealed.

The center, to be attached to the PAAAFR central lab, will employ the latest technologies to obtain key information about the genes of plants and fish and analyze them at their respective PAAAFR sectors.

Experts at the PAAAFR flora sector will start with arranging the sequences of plant genes in order to obtain knowledge about the pests and diseases of the plants, Al-Hasawi stated. This knowledge could be helpful for a larger project for the rehabilitation of the flora life, being implemented under auspices of the UN Compensation Commission that was created in 1991 to process claims for losses and damage suffered as a direct result of Iraq’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait (1990-91). Dealing with the PAAAFR fauna sector, Al-Hasawi said the DNA center will help identify the species of domestic animals such as cattle and sheep, promote researches into the biodiversity and study diseases of animals.

He added that the DNA center and its database would contribute to Kuwait’s efforts to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), set forth in the UN Resolution A/RES/70/1 of Sept 25, 2015.