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Role of Biotechnology in Food Security!
Food security is another area in which biotechnology offers major inputs for healthier and more nutritious food. Millions of people are malnourished, and Vitamin A deficiency affects 40 million children. There are also serious deficiencies of iodine, iron, and other nutrients.
A recent UNICEF report on food and nutrition deficiencies in children describes this as a “silent, invisible emergency with no outward sign of a problem.” Every year over 6 million children under the age of 5 die worldwide. About 2.7 million of these children die in India. More than half of these deaths result from inadequate nutrition.
With the advent of gene transfer technology and its use in crops to achieve higher productivity and better quality, including improved nutrition and storage properties.
To ensure adaptation of plants to specific environmental conditions, to increase plant tolerance to stress conditions, to increase pest and disease resistance, and to achieve higher prices in the marketplace. Genetically improved foods will have to be developed under adequate regulatory processes, with full public understanding.
It is scientifically well established that an environmentally benign way of ensuring food security is through bioengineering of crops. For the 4.6 billion people in developing countries, one billion do not get enough to eat and live in poverty. Is there any other strategy or alternative?
Biotechnology will provide the new tools to breeders to enhance plant capacity. Since the 12 percent of the world land is under agricultural crops, it is projected that the per capita availability may be reduced from 2.06 hectares to 0.15 hectare by 2050.