Session 7

I did not go for this week session as I was having fever:( However, I have read through some of the aritcles given, students' powerpoint slide and notes from friends.

This week's topic was an interesting one: still on biobusiness revolution, but focusing on agriculture.The statement given to class for this session is "When we are able to grow the resources we need, only then will we be on the way towards stability." I understand that this statement is true to a certain extent as if we are able to grow the resources, this means that these resources are somewhat "renewable" in the sense that we can regenerate it when we are running out of supply. Hence, they are considered sustainable. On the other hand, given that "resource" is actually a big word, which includes resources for energy, food, raw material for products, there will be several problems we will be facing if we completely rely on the method of growing resources. Firstly, there will be a limited usage of land. Since resources are required for so many purposes, there will not be enough land for us to grow these extensive amount of resources unless we remove the forest, find ways to grow crops in the desert or reducing the the amount of space man live in. However, if we resort to these solutions, other negative consequences might arise. Secondly, excessive use of the land might lead to depletion of nutrients present in the soil. Hence, growing of resources is not exactly sustainable as one of the factors (nutrients in soil) for growing crops might be depleted if not well managed. Hence, I would say that even though men has discovered this method of growing resources which seems to look and is sustainable to a certain extent, men must still continue to explore alternative methods of getting resources rather than putting all eggs in one basket.

In the article "Industrial and environmental application of Biotechnology", there is one segment talking about the opportunities given to the developing countries by the introduction of biotechnology. Bioproducts such as biofertilizer, bioenzyme, bioleaching etc aim to benefit the developing countries both economically and environmentally and giving opportunity for them to make the transition from raw material exports to processed products. I would agree that they definitely do benefit them by increasing the efficiency of the production and improving sustainability developments with the use of environmentally-friendly-technology. However, it is a pity that the author did not discuss about the problem that they will be encountering if they are adopting these bioproducts and technology. Even though these products do increase the yield of production, hence earning more profit, the author did not consider the starting cost. Taking farmers as example, they need invest a large aount of money to buy the biofertilizer, for some cases, GM seeds to increase crop yield. This amount of money might be a heavy burden on the farmers. The profit earn from the extra yield produced might be used to buy more biofertilizer and GM seed. This will seem like a never-ending-debt. To minimize this "side effect" and maximise the benefits of bioproducts and technology, I feel that it is very important for the government to regulate them such as improving market access or provide subsidies for these products.

One of the risks that will affect the future biotechnologies and products for crops mentioned in the article "how to feed the world in 2050" is climate change. Global warming and greater frequency of extreme weather events will lead to damages in the form of declining yields and water scarcity. Therefore, it is a challenge to
take effective action both to mitigate its effects and to adapt to its unavoidable consequences. Solutions such as conservation agriculture, avoiding deforestation, forest conservation and management, agro-forestry for food or energy, land restoration and recovery of biogas and waste to "increase resilience of production systems in the face of increased climatic pressures" are proposed in the article. However, I feel that this is insufficient given that the nature of the crops is still dependent on the temperature of the climate. Once the temperature exceeds its limits, no matter how much water or how many land spaces we reserve for agriculture, the crops will not be able to grow, unless they are grown in the green house, where temperature is being monitored. I would suggested that heat or cold resistant crops (GM crops) seeds should be on stand-by so that in the case of drastic climate changes, we are still able to produce  food.