Many developing and developed countries are concerned about the adaptation of crops towards various abiotic stress conditions in food production industry. Considering the crop improvement and food production, they are highly influenced anticipated variations in temperatures and rainfall. This review deals with the following aspects of agricultural biotechnology: (1) the role of two key biotechnology approaches namely, molecular breeding and genetic engineering in crop development; (2) explains the integration of these two modern technologies with the conventional breeding technique, which makes crops more tolerant to abiotic stresses and (3) Potential constraints for crop production that need to be override to meet the demands of a projected world population of nearly nine billion people by 2050.
Key words – Molecular Breeding, Drought, Stress, Genetic Engineering, Crop production
INTRODUCTION
The intensified research conducted in agriculture by various countries for the past five decades showed an increase in global food grain production from 850 million tons to 2350 million tons (from 1960 to 2007 respectively) (Godfray, H.C.J, et al, 2010). Though the global food products predicts the future demands and try to pace it with the population growth, there is always a proportion of almost a billion people who are undernourished in most of the developing countries (Hazell. P, et. al, 2008). The projected data suggested that there should be an increase in global food production by 70 % to meet the demands by 2050. Due to heavy competition in claiming for lands, water, labors, energy and capital; food insecurity is developed in most of the countries, leading to develop more pressure on crop production on the single unit of land, whi...
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...its all conventional or molecular plant breeding efforts. Even the public research institutes in developing countries lack the appropriate and large scale phenotyping facilities. (iv) The use of relevant MB method is needed more than using MABC to achieve higher genetic gain for complex traits. (v) Knowledge about the specific promoters is necessary for gene stacking in genetic engineering approaches. This is when the interdisciplinary approaches are required to combat the abiotic stresses. Also, the following two approaches should be considered by the scientific community as well as science policymakers. (a) Selecting the specific set of genes or QTLs for genetic engineering or Molecular breeding approaches and (b) Emphasizing on the large-scale phenotyping will be based on the knowledge about both drought and heat tolerance either individually or in combination.
Modern biotechnology was born at the hands of American scientists Herb Boyer and Stain Cohen, when they developed “recombinant deoxyribonucleotide, (rDNA), [1] for medicinal purposes. Subsequently, biotechnologists started genetically engineering agricultural plants using this technology. A single gene responsible for a certain trait, from one organism (usually a bacterium) is selected altered and then ‘spliced” into the DNA of a plant to create an agricultural crop consisting of that...
In order for us to maintain our lives, we need to consume food to supply nutrient-needs for our bodies. As the global population increased, the demand for food also increased. Increased population led to mass production of foods. However, even with this mass production, in under-developed countries, people are still undernourished. On other hand, in developed and developing countries, people are overfed and suffering from obesity. In addition, the current methods of industrial farming destroy the environment. These problems raised a question to our global food system. Will it be able to sustain our increasing global population and the earth? With this question in my mind, I decided to investigate the sustainability of our current global food system.
Genetically engineered crops could spur economic growth in developing countries through a combination of eco-friendly practices such as organic farming with genetic modification to create, “a system that slashes pesticide use, insulates crops against floods and drought, and protects the livelihoods of poor farmers in the developing world” (Vance). In addition to providing a means of steady income for such farmers, these crops could be altered to exhibit qualities of environmental resilience to account for greater production of food- enough to feed the world. An example of such produce is flood- proof rice, developed by Pam Ronald and her team to compensate for the predicted increase in frequency and duration of flooding in Southeast Asia as global warming occurs (Vance). This flood- proof rice was created with consideration of accessibility to poor farmers, using marker-assisted breeding to perform the genetic transfer, a cost-friendly and money-saving method, and through Ronald and her team developing a rice crop able to survive two weeks underwater (Vance). As such research and projects continue, through hundreds of more teams such as Pam Ronald’s, a positive outlook emerges on the horizon in terms of supplying the global population’s nutritional needs without increasing
The term GM foods or GMO (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques (Whitman, 2000). These plants have been modified in the laboratory to offer desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. Also, genetic engineering techniques have been applied to create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and accurately. For example, this is done by the geneticist isolating the gene responsible for drought tolerance and inserts it into another plant. The new genetically-modified plant will now have gained drought tolerance as well.
The developed world’s love affair with local/organic farming (peasant farming as Collier describes it) has decreased food production worldwide because it does not use the land efficiently enough as with commercial agriculture companies. It also requires government subsidies that large commercial farming companies do not necessarily need. By increasing commercial farming, the world food supply will inevitably increase over a short period.
The biotechnology frontier, especially developments in the field of genetic, promises- and to some degree has already archived - a revolution in agriculture and human health care. But proving the means to develop plant species that are more disease-and-pest-resistant, more tolerant of drought, and able to grow during extended periods of adverse conditions.
According Ronald Lee, the Author of The outlook for population growth, world population is projected to increase from 7 billion to 9.3 billion by the year 2050. This future population growth will be concentrated in the world’s less developed countries. This population increase creates a need for more food, leading to an increased use of
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing livelihood to approximately 75 per cent of the population. There is considerable scope for diversification and expansion of the agricultural sector through accelerated food crop production, processing and marketing.
Agriculture makes a diverse contribution to the economy across the world and plays a crucial role in the life of an economy. Agriculture is an industry that has been associated with the production of essential food and crops for decades. Despite a very significant growth in food production over the past half-century, one of the most significant challenges facing society today is how to feed an expected population of over nine billion people by the year 2050. The industry employs more than one billion people and produces $1.3 trillion dollars’ worth of food annually (Sustainable Agriculture, 2017). It is considered to be the backbone of our economic system. Agriculture is a consistent source
Given the needs of the world population for food, ensuring food security for humanity is a global challenge that needs attention. Approximately one billion people are fighting against hunger (FAO 2013), and approximately 2 billion are overweight (Patel 2008), meaning that nearly half of the world has some abnormality feed. So, it is possible to consider that the global food system is not aligned to global food needs (De Schutter 2011). India, for example, is a country with alarming portions of its population with food anomalies, both in terms of overweight/obesity and hunger/undernourishment (Doak et al. 2005; Stein et al. 2005).
Around the halfway point of the century, the UN predicts there will be 9.6 billion people on Earth (UN 2013). From now until then, we will have to produce more food than what humanity has consumed in its entire existence (Weisman 2013). Most of this demand will come from developing countries. As their economies grow, not only will these countries be able to afford more food, their preferences will also shift towards more meat, dairy, and processed foods, all of which require disproportionately large inputs and the use of intense agricultural practices to produce (Trostle and Seeley 2013).
Genetic engineering enhances plant resistance to drought, salinity, disease, pests and herbicides. The aim is to try and enhance the growth, productivity, nutrient value, and chemical composition of the plants. Chemicals are constantly being developed or improved to enhance the competitiveness and adaptability of crops, and to kill the parasites and weeds which plague the agricultural sector. . This however is not always good as the plant and the pests then become resistant to these new chemicals defeating the purpose of it being used. The new chemicals which are produced to kill these strong pests and weeds may be more harmful to other plants and remove nutrients within the soil in turn reducing the yield of agricultural crops. The benefits of these characteristics are seen in Argentina according to Pelletier (2010) as they use glyphosphate resistant soybean which allowed the comeback of this crop, as the so...
India has the world’s highest percentage of arable land area and also ranks first in gross irrigated croplands. India produces enough food and has enough to export. Yet there are millions live without two square meals per day. India’s food crisis is slightly different from food crisis in other countries of the world that are facing shortage of supply of food grains. In case of India it is not a supply pushed crisis, but it is a case of the poor peoples are unable to get access to food. This is because of the ineffective and inefficient marketing strategies, lack of adequate storage facilities and man created hoarding. Farming provides livelihood to nearly 60% of India’s 1.1 billion people even though farm produce comprises only 18% of the India’s current GDP. India is largely insulated from food prices due to huge stocks, but has challenges like inefficient distribution system and poor storage facilities
In the 1970’s, Africa was responsible for 8% of the world's total agricultural exports. Today, that number has dropped to 2% resulting in Africa being strictly dependent on food imports. Agriculture in this region should not be a problem due to the tropical climate, booming younger generation, and the huge area. However, agriculture in Africa is suffering due to the lack of fertilizer, technology, funds, and experience. Without a well producing crop, the people of Africa lack certain nutrients needed to live.
There are those that believe our planet has reached its maximum capacity to sustain humanity and we need to reduce our population to rectify it. It is also said that our planet is well capable of providing both the nutrition and caloric needs for humanity, both now and into the future as well. Regardless of where one’s opinion of the facts fall between these two arguments, global food security is not where it should be. Uneven development could be argued to be a cause of this. But it is not the only issue affecting the planet.