The Impact of Biotechnology on U.S. Agriculture

Rapid development in biotechnology has created opportunities for agricultural technological revolution and agricultural development.

FREMONT, CA: The rapid growth of biotechnology has created opportunities for agricultural technological revolution and growth. The United States is the nation with the earliest agricultural biotechnology development in the world.

Agricultural biotechnology applications have reached the stage of industrialization. Biotechnology and related products have played a significant role in all facets of agricultural production, thereby contributing to the industrialization of agriculture. Modernization has infused tremendous vitality.

Biotechnology has significantly increased crop yields to improve food, feed, and fiber security and reduce agriculture's ecological footprint.

The United States is promoting applying the four major biotechnology projects (genetic engineering, cell engineering, enzyme engineering, and fermentation engineering) in agriculture. It has also transitioned from traditional agriculture methods into the era of agricultural biotechnology. The highlight of this era has been the development of new plant breeding methods.

Humans use breeding technology to improve crops or animals by transferring traits controlled by genetically modified plants and animals to the desired plants or animals.

Compared to the sexual hybridization and asexual reproduction technology of conventional crops, the cultivation of genetically modified plants represents a significant innovation. It has the benefits of shortening the breeding period, overcoming the insurmountable obstacles of conventional breeding, and encouraging the blending of genetic material between species. The application significantly increases crop yield and agricultural productivity.

Essentially, the purpose of plant genetic engineering is the same as that of conventional breeding, which is to develop new crop varieties with superior characteristics. Using genetic breeding technology, the United States has developed numerous crop varieties with high-yield, insect-resistant, disease-resistant, drought- and flood-resistant characteristics since the 1970s.

COMMERCIAL ASPECTS OF AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

The commercial applications of agriculture, food production, and medicine benefit from biotechnology. Biotechnology provides the agricultural industry with strategic tools to meet the demands of the global market.

The most important sector of the agricultural biotechnology industry in the United States is biotechnology crops. In addition, the United States is currently the country with the world's largest biotech crop planting area.

Over 44.7 million hectares of biotech crops have been planted in the United States since 1996, when the first commercial genetically modified crops were planted. It is the largest biotech crop-producing region and market.

Biotech crop varieties for corn, cotton, soybeans, canola, tomato, melon, rice, flax, sugar beet, pumpkin, papaya, and chicory in the United States can already be grown commercially. Corn, cotton, and soybeans predominate among the biotech crops that have been widely commercialized.

Among the commercially available biotech crops, corn has the highest value-added yield per acre compared to traditional varieties.

BIOTECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE AND PUBLIC POLICY

Agricultural biotechnology in the United States has achieved tremendous success

primarily due to the application of public policies.

United States government's philosophy in developing agricultural biotechnology is to strengthen its most significant benefits, on the one hand, and lead the growth direction of the global agricultural biotechnology industry, on the other. Biotechnology in agriculture is the most advanced in the world in the United States.

Agricultural biology's new technology is mind-boggling, but the real challenge is convincing farmers to adopt it quickly. The United States has strengthened the promotion of agricultural biotechnology and efficient services across all levels of government. They have actively formed non-governmental agricultural social services with various professional associations and decision-making consulting agencies to assist farmers in implementing biotechnology.

Market mechanisms and competition policies are used in the United States to attract investors to the agricultural biotechnology industry, which has high inputs and outputs.

The United States government directs capital investment in agricultural biotechnology and industry through economic policies and other levers. The government facilitates venture capital investment in the agricultural biotechnology industry through a series of preferential measures, including tax incentives, government guarantees, R&D subsidies, and information services, thereby promoting the rapid development of the agricultural biotechnology industry.