Aportación tecnológica a la agricultura del siglo XXI

Abstract

It is essential to continue to develop new plant varieties which are more efficient in food production, less sensitive to hostile environments, and that which require less intensive agro-chemical treatment. Furthermore agro-chemical treatments should be increasingly based on a new generation of products which are: – More active and can therefore be used in smaller doses than are currently required. – More specific in the sense that they do not affect other organisms but are designed to control a narrow target group of pests). – Biodegradable so that they do not accumulate in the environment. An analysis of the potential risks posed by transgenic technology based varieties must be carried out with reference to the general context of challenges faced by agriculture. In particular they must be weighed against the need to continuously attain a higher efficiency per hectare as well as better compatibility with the environment. The challenge is to develop a more productive and clean agricultural system. If we extrapolate the current agricultural efficiency of countries to the year 2005, on the basis of the rates of increase in efficiency attained in the last few years, and compare them with the projected demand for food based on current rates of population growth, we find great deficits in almost all the areas of the world. This means that the world will be unable to meet demand for food even on the basis of current rates of innovation in the development of more efficient crops. There is an urgent need to boost current levels of innovation in the development of more efficient crop varieties.