Scientist says biotech key to producing more food

 A renowned scientist said biotechnology applications in food  can help address the challenge of producing more food with less land in a sustainable way.

Dr. Rhodora R. Aldemita, Senior Program Officer of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) and former scientist at the Philippine Rice Research Institute, said that  the world’s population is projected to increase from 6.5B to 8B by 2025 and 9.2B by 2050.

Speaking before participants composed of regional technical directors, technical staff, information officers, and extension officers during the Seminar-Workshop on Understanding Agricultural Biotechnology recently held at the Plaza del Norte Hotel and Convention Center, Aldemita emphasized the need to produce more food that are also safe and nutritious without adversely affecting the natural resources and food production areas.

She added that the number of malnourished or hungry people in the world reaches one billion.

According to Aldemita, cultivable land per capita has decreased from  0.45 ha. in 1966 to 0.15 ha. in 2050.

Grain yields displayed low growth at less than 1.0 % per annum in 1990s, she added.

Aldemita highlighted the results from several impact studies indicating that that adoption of biotech corn has resulted in more than 18% yield increase from 2008 and reduced insecticide application realized savings of $12-$15 per hectare. A recent study indicated that net impact of biotech corn on farm profitability is $37 to $110 per hectare.

She further emphasized that these benefits were obtained on almost the same size of land and without encroaching into forest and reserve areas.    

Among the biotechnology applications that can help produce more food are diagnostic and early detection tools for reducing losses caused by pests and diseases.

According to Aldemita, biotechnology tools also improve conventional breeding with the use of marker-aided selection. This technique allows breeders to efficiently select the best breeding lines possessing important traits.

She added that biotechnology applications also increase the knowledge of genetics and ecology for managing yield and losses.

Genetic engineering, Aldemita stressed, can be used for improving yield, pest resistance, tolerance to adverse environmental conditions and quality.  This technique allows direct transfer of important genes even between sexually incompatible species, producing improved and novel traits in genetically modified (GM) crops.

Biotechnology R&D started to be implemented at a large scale  in the Philippines when the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) at the University of the Philippines Los Banos was established in 1979.

Since then, several public policies and programs have been established to promote the safe and responsible use of biotechnology tools and techniques in thru improvement of agricultural commodities. Public research institutions in the Philippines have also embarked on the application of biotechnology to help solve serious productivity and resiliency problems in agriculture.