Prospects for increased food production and poverty alleviation: What plant biotechnology can practically deliver and what it cannot

Publisher Summary Biotechnology has introduced offers efficient and cost-effective means to produce a diverse array of novel, value-added products and tools. It has the potential to improve qualitative and quantitative aspects of food, feed, fiber, and biofuel production; reduce the dependency of agriculture on chemicals and fossil fuels; diminish over cultivation and erosion; and lower the cost of raw materials, all in an environmentally sustainable manner. Agricultural biotechnology has helped farmers around the world boost their productivity and grow crops in more ecologically healthy fields while allowing much more efficient use of resources. This technology allows reduced tillage, which cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions, water runoff, machinery use, and soil erosion. The vast majority of products approved to date are in the area of agronomic traits, most specifically biotic stress. The principal focus still remains on agronomic traits, especially in the area of pest control, but with an increasing interest in abiotic stress tolerance, which is gaining prominence as external pressures from climate change to land use change are rising.