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Benefits of plant science Benefits of plant biotechnology Benefits of crop protection
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Plant biotechnology
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Explore the benefits of plant science

Issues:  benefits

This is agriculture ...

hand with cotton    Agriculture is beautiful green fields; agriculture is bountiful vegetables; agriculture is ripe fruit – and agriculture is much more. It touches every aspect of daily life from the sheets on your bed, to your morning coffee, to the fibre-board panels in your car door. It is the meal on your table, the clothes on your back and the paint on your walls.

Modern plant science has increased the productivity of agriculture. Farms can grow more on each acre and can do it more safely and fuel efficiently than ever before. Biotechnology and crop protection products play a vital role in expanding our global capacity to produce renewable resources that are used to feed and create other useful products. This is a path to a green world – with space for forests and fields – that feeds, clothes and fuels; using resources responsibly so that growth continues.

Benefits to the environment 

... HELPING HABITAT

 monkey   By increasing yields, improved seeds and crop protection products have helped minimise the amount of new land brought under cultivation while helping to meet growing demand. Studies estimate that to produce the same amount of food we produce today, with the yield levels of 1961, it would require an additional 970 million hectares, or more than the total land area of the United States. It is estimated that some 30-60% of yield increases are due to improved crop varieties made possible by plant breeding.

Benefits to well-being

... DISEASE DEFENCE

Biotechnology can provide fruitful results when it comes to healthy minds and bodies. Projects include:

 woman and child  
  • Fruit and vegetables fortified with extra vitamin C and E to protect against risks of cancer and heart disease.
  • Strawberries with high ellagic acid, a cancer fighting agent.
  • Potatoes that absorb less oil during processing. Also, potatoes with 30% more protein.
  • Vegetable oils with low saturated fats and properly balanced essential fatty acids which are associated with reducing risk of heart disease and stroke.
  • Tomatoes with boosted lycopene, the antioxidant associated with reducing risk of cancer.

Benefits to productivity

... LIMITING LAND USE

Our population is growing and arable land is declining. To preserve biodiversity and wildlife habitats, farmers need to be able to grow more on less land. In the U.S. a recent study found:

 cotton
  • Cotton cultivation became 26% more productive over the past 2 decades, ensuring more cotton is grown on less land.
  • The land needed to grow a bushel of corn has dropped by 37% in just 20 years.
  • 17% more wheat can be grown on the same amount of land as in 1987.
  • A bushel of soybeans can be produced today using 26% less land than was used 20 years ago.

 

Social benefits

... BOOSTING ECONOMIES AROUND THE WORLD

Faro Munjanja
  • In Wesselsbron, South Africa, a biodiesel plant with a 5,000 litre/day capacity operates on locally-grown sunflower seeds.
  • Brazil, a world leader in the development and use of biofuels, supports approximately 700,000 agricultural sector jobs in the ethanol industry.
  • China just finished building the world’s largest biofuel plant and has another in the works.

All providing a boost to rural economies around the world.

  

Benefits to developing countries
 
... EXTRA EDUCATION

 girl student Increasing yields means helping farmers increase their income. For many, this is the only way to be able to afford school fees for their children or health care. For example, Mary Katsonya, from Malawi, was able to dramatically improve her maize harvest through the adoption of hybrid maize seeds and better quality inputs, provided through a joint partnership between the government of Malawi and private companies. Her record harvest of maize provided enough to feed her family for a year and extra money to pay for schoolbooks and cloths for her five  grandchildren.

Benefits of new products

... IN THE LAUNDRY

clothes in dryer Environmental issues have led to an increasing interest in starch-derived products for the detergent industry. Plant derived carbohydrates can now be used to provide the water-soluble portion of surfactants, the primary cleaning agents within detergents.

Plants such as corn are also being used to create textiles. Using corn sugar instead of petroleum-based feedstocks to create polymers consumes 40% less energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 20%.

The global market for industrial crop-derived materials is now approximately 71 million tonnes, valued at $28 billion.

  

Last update: 03 Sep 2010
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