Importance of Plant Biotechnology in Modern Agriculture

There have been indications of positive achievements using plant biotechnology as analysed in the previous article. Are these benefits available in the environment? This article seeks to explain potential advantages accruing to various groups of people.

Modern civilisation would be impossible without the domestication of a small number of plants, particularly wheat, rice, and maize.

Domestication generates plants with high yields, large seeds, soft seed coats, non-shattering seed heads that prevent seed dispersal and thus facilitate harvesting, and a flowering time determined by planting date rather than by natural day length. These improvements are driven by technological innovations.

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Broad Importance of Plant Biotechnology Beyond Medicine

Biotechnology has many useful applications besides those medically related. Many of these applications are in agriculture and food science. These include the development of transgenic crops placing genes into plants to give the crop beneficial traits. Benefits include:

1. Pest and Weed Control
Plant biotechnology has helped make both insect pest control and weed management safer and easier while safeguarding plants against disease. For example, genetically engineered insect-resistant cotton has allowed a significant reduction in the use of persistent, synthetic pesticides that could contaminate groundwater and the environment.

In terms of improved weed control, herbicide-tolerant soybeans, cotton, and corn enable the use of reduced-risk herbicides that break down more quickly in soil and are non-toxic to wildlife and humans.

2. Herbicide-Tolerant Plants Supporting Soil Conservation
Herbicide-tolerant plants are particularly compatible with no-till or reduced tillage agriculture systems that help preserve topsoil from erosion. The Flavr Savr tomato was the first genetically modified commercial crop food.

Plant biotechnology has been used to protect plants from devastating diseases. The papaya ringspot virus threatened the Hawaiian papaya industry until papayas resistant to the disease were developed through genetic engineering, saving the U.S. papaya industry.

Research on potatoes, squash, tomatoes, and other crops continues similarly to provide resistance to viral diseases that are otherwise very difficult to control.

3. Increase in Crop Yields and Farm Profitability
Biotech plants can make farming more profitable by increasing crop quality and, in some cases, yields. The use of some crops simplifies work and improves safety for farmers, allowing more time for other profitable activities.

Biotechnology-derived varieties of pest-protected corn, cotton, potatoes, and herbicide-tolerant soybeans have significantly reduced pesticide and herbicide use, boosted yields, and saved growers tens of millions of dollars.

A study by the National Center for Food and Agriculture Policy found that six biotech crops canola, corn, cotton, papaya, soybean, and squash increased grower incomes by $1.9 billion, boosted crop yields by 5.3 billion pounds, and reduced pesticide use by 46.4 million pounds in 2003. These savings came from reduced inputs including time, labour, and wear and tear on farm equipment.

4. Enhancement of Quality Traits in Crops
Biotech crops provide enhanced quality traits such as increased levels of beta-carotene in rice and improved oil compositions in canola, soybean, and corn. For example, scientists have developed a new strain of rice called golden rice that naturally produces beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A.

Golden rice can provide enough beta-carotene to compensate for vitamin A deficiencies in the diets of poor children and increase the amount of vitamin A in breast milk, an important source of nutrition for infants.

Furthermore, the same strain of rice has been enriched with additional iron to combat anemia, which affects hundreds of millions of the world’s poor.

5. Development of Crops Resistant to Drought and Salty Soils
Crops with the ability to grow in salty soils or better withstand drought conditions are also in development. Plant biotechnology can be a key element in the fight against hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

Currently, an estimated 800 million people do not have access to sufficient food supplies. By 2030, the global population is expected to reach, if not exceed, eight billion people, putting further strain on food supplies.

While the world population grows rapidly, especially in developing countries, the amount of available agricultural land is limited. Only 10 percent of the world’s land surface is arable, and over-farming and soil erosion are growing problems in some areas. To overcome these challenges, farmers will need to find ways to grow more food while using less land.

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Plant Biotechnology as a Precise Tool for Agricultural Improvement

Plant biotechnology is a precise process using scientific techniques to develop molecular- and cellular-based technologies that improve plant productivity, quality, and health; enhance the quality of plant products; or prevent, reduce, or eliminate constraints to plant productivity caused by diseases, pests, and environmental stresses.

This process and technology are already in widespread use in the United States. Plant biotechnology practically increases the production of main food staples, improves production efficiency, reduces the environmental impact of agriculture, and provides food access for small-scale farmers.

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