Biotechnology has been proven as a source that has taken the agriculture sector in India to another level. There are timely improvements in Biotechnology practices that are helping the agriculture sector to become endurable. Let’s elaborate on the need for new techniques in Agriculture here.
We have seen changes in our climate, the environment is not healthy as compared to 50 years earlier. There is degradation in the environment. The farming techniques we are using, deploy lots of chemicals in the field, the chemicals are harming the land and human beings also. The era of the 21st century and upcoming times is challenging to use. It is required to opt for sustainable farming techniques in the agriculture sector. Biotechnology can help us a lot to deal with these issues of Indian Farming methods.
Conventional VS Sustainable Agriculture
In conventional agriculture methods, the farmers aim to produce more yield from the farm to earn more profit. Farmers do not bother to use chemicals to produce more products. With the long-term use of conventional farming techniques, the quality of soil is not good now. Water is contaminated and we lost biodiversity.
The practices associated with Biotechnology farming will solve both problems, farmers will get higher production and the soil quality will not be reduced. Biotechnology techniques in farming follow the ecological principles that do not harm our environment and we will adopt regenerative techniques in farming. The farmers will receive the gift of food security and ecosystem resilience.
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What is Sustainable Agriculture?
Now you might be thinking what is sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture will provide you with the food and all of the fiber needs and on the other hand, the quality of the environment upgrades instead of degradation. The farmers will feel economically safe and profitable. Sustainable agriculture will promote the following.
- Usage of on-farm resources efficiently
- To preserve soil health and maintain biodiversity
- To improve farm economics and societal well-being.
Role of Biotechnology in Sustainable Agriculture
Biotechnology promises to keep agriculture sustainable. The practices of biotechnology are working on molecular mechanisms. These practices with molecular mechanisms will enhance crop production. There are concepts in biotechnology that are key players in sustainable agriculture. They are listed below.
- Genetic engineering
- Process modulation
- Molecular breeding
- Microbes engineering
- Precision fermentation for high-value molecules
- Microbiome engineering
Better Planting Material
The seed industry of Agriculture has adopted many techniques from Biotechnology. The concepts of molecular breeding, pathway modification, genetic engineering, and trait modification means gene editing are currently adopted in Agriculture. The researchers are studying further structure of molecules for more genetic engineering on seeds.
Biologicals
Let us explain the biologicals with an example. Bioprime has developed a Verdant and works on the cell walls of the crops. The cell walls of the crops are modified to make them tolerate more heat and handle the drought conditions. This is called pathway modulation, it involves the molecular structure and scientist are now changing the genes of the seed to change their traits. The genes are modified in a way that they will give us desirable results.
Yield Improvement
Biotechnology is working in many sectors to improve the production in agriculture. One concept is working on the photosynthesizing ability of the crops. RUBISCO is used to improve photosynthesis in the crops so that the crops will produce more production even in times of stress like low water, and low sun rays. This technique can give 20% to 50% more production from the same agriculture field. The improved percentage of production will again depend on the atmosphere
Enhancing Nutrient Use Efficiency
Biotechnology is laboring on the concept of NUE- Nutrient Use Efficiency. If this becomes true, the NUE will be maximized and the farmers are no longer required to use more fertilizers in the agriculture farm. The method to increase NUE involves the following:
- Genetic manipulation- the aim to increase nutrient uptake by the crops
- Metabolism genes- fully utilize the nutrients
- Development of microbial strains- to improve nutrient presence and use by the crops
Currently, the genes of seeds are muted for nitrogen metabolism, which has reduced the nitrogen deficiency in crops and results in higher production, examples are GS-glutamine synthetase and NRT-nitrate transporters.
Building Climate Resilience
Climate change is a big concern worldwide for the agriculture field. We have encountered extreme climate changes that are affecting our crops. In this situation also Biotechnology can be used as a tool to save our crops in the changing environment. Biotechnology helps us make climate-resilient crops. These climate-resilient crops can handle situations of salinity, drought, or high temperatures. In the market, genetically engineered maize is already there that can withstand drought conditions.
Harnessing the Power of the Microbiome
When we talk about the health of the crop, the concept of microbiome comes from Biotechnology. Microbiome techniques can be implemented to increase nutrient uptake and to make the crops disease-resistant and stress-tolerant. All these factors will result in higher production and the crop will survive longer as compared to the conventional methods. We have rice, wheat, tomatoes, chili, and soybeans in the market that have been using the concept of microbiome.
Promoting Nutrient-Dense Food
Many biotechnological methods can be used to improve nutrient content in our crops. Biotechnology can offer us malnutrition and food insecurity. Now, we have nutrient-dense crops in the market with the help of biotechnological techniques. One example is biofortified rice, this rice variety has a higher amount of iron and zinc. Genetic engineering is used to improve zinc and iron in rice. Many countries are growing biofortified rice to improve the health of the nation. The revolution in agriculture will be seen by cumulative efforts from several techniques such as
- Agronomic management
- Plant breeding
- Fertilizer technology
- Farm mechanization
- Nutrient use efficiency
Conclusion
Biotechnology will be beneficial for crop production, and the nutritional value of the food, and the crops will survive in harsh conditions through gene modulation.