Introduction: Biotechnological interventions for crop improvement: Answers to global challenges

Abstract

The world population is about to reach seven billion and one in seven of these people is already hungry. 1.4 billion people (one in four) in the developing world lives in poverty; more than a quarter of the world's children are still malnourished. The projection is that the world population will reach eight billion by 2025, ten billion by 2083. This is an alarming time point for the whole society facing the perfect storm due to challenges such as climate change, energy crisis, food crisis, land degradation, loss of biodiversity, and increasing population that could lead to widespread food shortages and public unrest over the next few decades. To feed the growing world population, we have no option but to intensify crop production. The farming community, mostly composed of small and marginal farmers, is the most vulnerable and face unprecedented constraints due to combined effects of climate change and growing competition for land, water and energy. A recent scientific prediction states that worldwide drylands will expand by 11 % (FAO 2011), and that we will experience increased frequency and severity of droughts across the globe. The growing volatility in food prices and unexpected spikes in oil prices in past few decades no doubt affects the world's poor in worst way. The international financial crisis is looming large, especially in the developing countries. Amid all these, agricultural productivity, especially in developing countries, continues to drop, while degraded natural resources and climate change are increasingly affecting food production and prices.