Biotechnology as an aid for crop improvement to overcome food shortage

Abstract

World's population has crossed 6.5 billion with majority of human beings living in developing or under developing countries. Clearly, food security in such countries will be a primary concern over the next few decades. However, options for increased food production to meet this population pressure are limited because most arable land is already under cultivation, and in many areas land use cannot be further intensified without a risk to the long-term productivity. Agricultural land use has been especially intense in recent years because of rapid urbanization and increasing environmental pollution. The ultimate need is to use newer technologies which could help us to curb this food insecurity. Biotechnology is globally recognized as a rapidly emerging, complex and far reaching new technology. It has revolutionized all the fields of life. Recent discoveries and technical innovations in the field of genomics and biotechnology are revealing the full complement of genes in crops, the ability to define genetic variation and use DNA markers to follow chromosome segments with known functions through breeding programmes are leading to new efficiencies in breeding. The ability to isolate and redesign genes and transfer them into different plants also offers the breeder solutions to several key limitations. The convergence of advances in biology-genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and information technologies is driving the emergence of a new bio-economy. By the usage of this technology we have achieved remarkable success in increasing crop productivity, improving crop quality as well as overcoming food shortage. Additionally the genetically engineered crops have shown a remarkable potential to tackle some of the world's most challenging socioeconomic problems which are more prevalent in the developing world than in the industrialized nations.