The Role of Green Biotechnology through Genetic Engineering for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, and for Food Security: Current Challenges and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Climatic change has a great challenge to almost all human activities over the years. Continuous increase in climate change could have a negative effect on global food security. In order to feed the current ever-increasing world population, there is a need to double the rate of agricultural productivity. Biotechnology through genetic modification can contribute their incredible roles positively towards reducing vulnerability of natural and human systems to climate change effects including greenhouse gas reduction, and increase agricultural production on less land in helping to meet future food by the adoption of GM-crop traits such as herbicide-tolerant crops, drought-tolerant crops, insect-resistant crops, and high-yielding transgenic crops which counters the negative effects of climate change. It is important that bio-safety regulatory systems to be established and good policies formulated on agricultural development with the use of sustainable agricultural biotechnology with public-private partnership to effectively utilize modern biotechnology to enhance food security and mitigate climatic changes. Currently, modern biotechnology has encountered enormous public debates related to risks and benefits of genetically modified organisms in terms of human health, environment, socio-economic, and ethical and cultural concern issues. However, safe application of modern agricultural biotechnologies is significantly contributing to the current and future climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts, and greatly improve agricultural productivity and food security to ensure food availability or access to food for all and efficient utilization of food resources globally. This will ensure that the GM-crops have no adverse effect on living organisms and the environmentally safe. Therefore, the aim of this review paper was to assessed the current challenges and future perspectives of biotechnology through genetic modification for climate change adaptation and mitigation, and food security.