Role of Biotechnology for Food Security in Present Context of Changing Climate

Food is the basic requirement of human beings. Almost half of the world's less developed countries suffer a decline in aggregate food supply and more than a quarter suffer an increase in hunger despite the "green revolution" between 1970 and 1990. Biotechnology could playa vital role to cope up the world's problems of hunger and poverty. However, genetic engineering in particular offers outstanding potentials to increase the efficiency of crop improvement. Thus, biotechnology could enhance global food production and availability in a sustainable way. Two case studies from Kenya and Mexico also demonstrate that transgenic crops are very appropriate for agricultural producers and consumers in developing countries. As the entire technology can be packaged into the seed, it can easily be integrated into traditional small hold farming systems. Except for a few innovative transfer projects, though, the application of biotechnology until now remains concentrated in the industrialized world. Combined with insufficient scientific and regulatory capacities, the increasing privatization of international agricultural research and the strengthening of intellectual property rights complicate the access of developing countries to biotechnology. Thus, profound institutional adjustments are essential to ensure that biotechnology does not bypass the poor.