Biotechnology - Agriculture And Food

Food problems have been a challenge to man since before we kept records. By the mid-1960’s, hunger and malnutrition were widespread…especially in Asia. This led to the development of intentional research and the search for advancement in food availability in developing countries. We started with wheat and rice.

The breeding of improved varieties, combined with the expanded use of fertilizers, other chemical inputs and irrigation, led to dramatic yield increases in Asia and Latin America, beginning in the late 1960s Example: Wheat It took nearly 1,000 years for wheat yields to increase from 0.5 to 2 metric tons per hectare, but only 40 years to climb from 2 to 6 metric tons per hectare

A Food Revolution – The Good and The Bad Was this research a blessing or curse? The Good: Matured earlier (crop yield more quickly) Showed resistance to major diseases and pests Increased income to farms-poverty declined from almost 60% to less than 30% in Asian farming communities

The Not So Good Much higher use of pesticides and fertilizers to increase crop yield. This tore down the environment in a major way, which was an unexpected consequence. Decline in nutritional content. Focus was on quantity, not quality.

Some of these outcomes were inevitable as millions of farmers began to use modern inputs for the first time but inadequate extension and training and absence of effective regulation of water quality, input pricing and subsidy policies made modern inputs too cheap and encouraged excessive use creating negative environmental impact

Stark Realities… million people cannot afford two course of meals About 30,000 people, half of them children, die every day due to hunger and malnutrition Nearly 1.2 billion people live on less than a dollar a day “In the next 50 years, mankind will consume as much food as we have consumed since the beginning of agriculture 10,000 years ago - Clive James”

Modern Genetics & Agriculture Inserting one or few genes to achieve desired traits Transfer of genes into crop plants ▫Relatively precise and predictable ▫Allows flexibility

Biotechnology can add value to global agriculture! Environmental impact - decreased use of pesticides Reduced losses from pests and diseases Improved nutritional efficiency Improved productivity Post harvest quality - prolong shelf life of fruits, vegetables and flowers Stress tolerance - drought, acidity, salinity, temperature...

Issues holding biotech back… Finance Technical capability Public Opinions Trade issues Safety “Intellectual Property” protections

Goal Every citizen of this planet has the right to have enough nutritious food at an affordable price & to achieve this goal, technologies must be developed/ upgraded and made available to every practicing farmer.