July 5, 2001
Biotechnology Can Be Especially Beneficial to Pakistani Farmers
Biotechnology is vital for Pakistan, reports Ijaz Ahmad Rao in an article published in the Business Recorder. Crop losses from insect pests can be staggering, he says, resulting in great financial loss for farmers and starvation for people in many developing countries.
Pakistani farmers typically use several tons of chemical pesticides, costing billions of rupees annually. Run-off from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers can affect the water supply and harm the environment. Planting genetically modified crops can help reduce the number of pesticide applications and lower the cost of bringing a crop to market.
In some crops it is not effective for farmers to remove weeds by physical means, so many Pakistani farmers often spray large quantities of various herbicides to destroy these weeds. This is a time-consuming and expensive process which requires care to avoid harming the crop and the environment.
As the world population grows and more land is utilized for housing instead of food production, farmers will need to grow crops in locations previously unsuited for plant cultivation. Plants designed to withstand long periods of drought, for example, could help alleviate Pakistan's current drought situation, which has resulted in a decline in the agricultural growth rate from +6% to –2%.
Rao concludes that biotechnology will one day bring many improvements to the quality of life for Pakistanis.
"Bio-technology is Vital for Bio-Pakistan," Business Recorder
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| Study Shows Farmers Reap Savings by Planting Genetically Enhanced Crops
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Genetically modified crops have saved U.S. farmers billions of dollars a year, according to a study carried out by the National Center for Food and Agriculture Policy (NCFAP) in Washington.
The study looked at 30 insect-resistant crops, assessing the economic benefits as well as environmental gains through reduced use of chemical pesticides. The largest benefit seen for any one crop was in soybeans, where 63 per cent of the US crop planted this year - on
| 49 million acres - is genetically engineered to resist Monsanto's Roundup herbicide.
"If US growers no longer planted the GM herbicide-tolerant soybean cultivars, they would likely substitute alternative herbicides which would increase soybean production costs by [$735 million] a year," said Leonard Gianessi, senior researcher for the NCFAP.
"Study Claims Gene Modified Crops Save US Farms Billions," Financial Times |
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| President Bush Pledges Support for Biotechnology
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United States President George W. Bush has signaled strong support for biotechnology by promising a transparent, science-based regulatory system, continuing R&D tax credits, announcing new funding for the National Institutes of Health and stressing the role of biotechnology in the new U.S. energy policy.
Bush says agricultural biotechnology is a critical tool for helping farmers in developing countries produce more food from less land,
| and for enhancing the sustainability of U.S. farms.
Dylan Coburn Glenn, special assistant to the president for economic policy adds, "Biotechnology, more than any other industry, is providing a set of tools that are crucial in many fields."
"Bush, on Videotape, Promises Broad-Based Biotech Support," BioWorld |
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| Genetically Enhanced Algae Could Lower Costs and Improve Quality
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Using biotechnology, scientists have developed a type of algae that will grow without sunlight—a breakthrough that could cut the cost of growing the single-cell plant used in dietary supplements.
Traditional cultivation is typically done in large outdoor ponds, where contamination and variations in sunlight and temperature can reduce the quality and quantity of the
| plants.
"Eliminating contamination means that the algae can be produced at a high purity for pharmaceutical applications," says study co-author Kirk Apt of Martrek Biosciences Corp.
"Scientists Alter Algae to Grow Without Light," Houston Chronicle |
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