Check out this rather interesting article I found on Guardian’s website, on how research is needed to help crops survive harsher climates.
Research to develop genetically modified crops must be stepped up as part of a £2bn “grand challenge” to avoid future food shortages, an influential panel of scientists said yesterday. In its report, the Royal Society said that GM techniques would be needed to boost yields and help crops survive harsher climates, as the global population rises and global warming worsens.
But the report said GM was not the only answer, and that measures to improve crop management, such as improved irrigation, were needed too.
Professor David Baulcombe, a plant scientist at the University of Cambridge who chaired the study, said: “We need to take action now to stave off food shortages. If we wait even five to 10 years, it may be too late. Biological science has progressed in leaps and bounds in the last decade and UK scientists have been at the head of the pack when it comes to topics related to food crops. In the UK we have the potential to come up with viable scientific solutions for feeding a growing population and we have a responsibility to realise this potential. There’s a very clear need for policy action and publicly funded science to make sure this happens.”
The Royal Society said the government should reverse a decay in agricultural research in Britain and spend at least £200m each year for the next 10 years on science that improves crops and sustainable crop management.
The report said the changing diets of people around the world, the likely impact of climate change and growing scarcity of water and land made it harder to increase food production to meet an expected rise in global population of 3 billion by the mid-century. Production methods would need to sustain the environment, preserve natural resources and support the livelihoods of farmers and rural populations around the world, it added.
The report came as John Beddington, chief scientific adviser to the government, said a “range of solutions” would be needed to feed a growing world population.
Baulcombe added: “There is no panacea for ensuring global food security. Science-based approaches introduced alongside social science and economic innovations are essential if we’re to have a decent chance of feeding the world’s population in 40 years’ time. Technologies that work on a farm in the UK may have little impact for harvests in Africa. Research is going to need to take into account a diverse range of crops, localities, cultures and numerous other circumstances.”
Article continues here.
