Biotechnology Benefits

Climate change threatens now more than ever all the elements essential for life, food, health, soil and environment. The economist Nicholas Stern's 2006 report, at the request of UK Government warned that the global temperature increase with 2 to 3 degrees over the next 50 years, and given that no action will be taken to counter this phenomenon increase will continue to 5 to 8 degrees by the end of this century. This is a catastrophic scenario, which gives grounds for reflection. Clearly, the issue will be reflected in environmental conditions, increasing solar radiations, storms, floods caused by torrential rainfall and melting glacial areas with negative effects on arable land that will be affected for over 30% of the present area. Climate change will be reflected in more than 5% of economic losses all over the world.

Agriculture is a source of 'greenhouse gas'. Agricultural practices, particularly deforestation, animal feeding and management of chemical fertilizers are responsible for 25% of the total carbon dioxide emissions. Also agriculture is a major source of methane and nitrogen oxides, accounting for 48% emission of methane and 52% of nitrogen oxides. Implementing a 'good practice and sustainable agriculture' is more important than ever before. In agriculture it is consumed about 70% of the total water used globally, and if the trend continues, the constraint caused by lack of water in agriculture is identified as the most significant factor in agricultural production in the next 50 years. The importance of biotechnology in agriculture is more and more obvious adding the need to double agricultural production by 2050, providing food for the growing population. Agricultural biotechnology can play a significant role by providing solutions to increase agricultural production using water in a sustainable manner and at the same time, modifying plants to cope with a pronounced lack of it. This is done in two main ways: reducing water losses and improving plant drought tolerance. It has been discovered that products of biotechnology have the same nutrients, the same qualities and this is a significant motivation for implementing agricultural biotechnology.