Role of Biotechnology in Agriculture

The development and deployment of new technologies is an important factor that determines the future of agriculture. FAO study investigated three critical areas, namely biotechnology, technologies in support of sustainable agriculture, and the direction to be taken by future research.Problems and prospects of Biotechnology promises great benefits for producers and consumers of agricultural products, but its applications are also associated with potential risks. The risks and benefits may vary substantially from one product to the next and is often considered to be different in different countries. To reap the full potential of biotechnology, appropriate policies must be developed to ensure that potential risks are accurately diagnosed and, if necessary, should be avoided.For thousands of years, humans have been involved in improving the results of plants and animals by increasing production. Over the last 150 years, scientists have assisted their efforts to develop and enhance selection and breeding techniques. Although progress has been achieved, conventional selection and breeding time consuming and bear technical limitations.Modern biotechnology has the potential to accelerate the development and deployment of improved crops and animals. Marker-assisted selection, for example, improve the efficiency of conventional plant breeding by allowing rapid, laboratory-based analysis of thousands of people without the need to grow plants to maturity in the field.

Tissue culture techniques allow rapid multiplication of clean planting materials of vegetatively propagated species for distribution to farmers. Genetic engineering or modification - manipulating an organism's genome by introducing or eliminating specific genes - helpful traits desired transfer between plants more quickly and accurately than is possible in conventional breeding.This latter technique promises considerable profit, but also has caused wide public concern. This includes concerns in terms of ethics, anxiety about food and environmental safety, and concerns about the concentration of economic power and technological dependence, which will deepen the technology gap between developed and developing countries.The spread of genetically modified crops in the world very quickly. The increase to 30 percent over the five years to 2001, when they cover more than 52 million ha in the world. Enough research to develop more varieties of GM's ongoing in several developing countries. China, for example, reportedly has the second largest biotechnology research capacity after the United States. However, genetic engineering technology has a high enough risk. loss of germplasm at the risk of the most feared and worrying to some scientists in this field. It is just. In addition, the high technology used to produce genetically modified seeds needed science and high technology. impressed that this technology can only be created by those who have the knowledge and also funds and technological support.So that this technology can not be applied or implemented by small farmers. This technology is currently dominated by large companies in the world. And the target of sales of technology products are small farmers. Looking at it from the positive side of this technology that we can set the seeds from plants, animals or other organisms according to the needs or desires.Currently the development of technologies for organic farming is much favored by farmers. And ecologically, farming systems are more secure in the ecosystem. Basically, the technology is applied to facilitate or assist humans in performing its activities. Similarly in agriculture. With the implementation of the technology is expected to improve agricultural yields and facilitate the farmers in conducting agricultural activities.