{"id":71472,"date":"2026-04-13T18:11:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T12:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=71472"},"modified":"2026-04-13T18:13:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T12:43:07","slug":"biotechnology-in-traditional-farming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/13-04-2026\/biotechnology-in-traditional-farming","title":{"rendered":"Importance of Biotechnology in Traditional Farming Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Biotechnology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>With the agriculture industry projected to grow 2.5 times by 2033, biotech experts underscored the <strong>growing importance of agri-biotechnology in the coming years.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Scientists have warned that with <strong>every one degree Celsius<\/strong> increase in temperature, India\u2019s wheat yield could decline by<strong> 6% to 10%.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Climate-resilient Agriculture (CRA)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Climate-resilient agriculture<\/strong> uses a <strong>range of biotechnology and complementary technologies<\/strong> to<strong> guide farming practices<\/strong> and reduce dependence on chemical inputs, while maintaining or improving productivity.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tools include:<\/strong> Biofertilizers and biopesticides, and soil-microbiome analyses.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Genome-edited crops can be developed to withstand drought, heat, salinity, or pest pressures.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>AI-driven analytics can integrate multiple environmental and agronomic variables to generate locally tailored farming strategies.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>India\u2019s Bioeconomy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is among the <strong>Top 12 destinations<\/strong> for biotechnology worldwide and <strong>3rd largest destination<\/strong> for biotechnology in Asia Pacific.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s bioeconomy has grown sixteen-fold from<strong> $10 billion in 2014 to an impressive $165.7 billion in 2024.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Contributing 4.25%<\/strong> to the national GDP, the sector has demonstrated a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of <strong>17.9%<\/strong> over the past four years.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s Biotechnology sector is <strong>categorised into Biopharmaceuticals, Bio agriculture, Bio IT and Bio Services.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Future Goals: <\/strong>Target of achieving a<strong> $300 billion bioeconomy by 2030.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India also seeks to lead globally in bio-pharma, including vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why does India need CRA?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Agricultural Economy: <\/strong>India is an agricultural nation with a rapidly growing population, which places increasing pressure on the need for higher and more reliable farm productivity.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Around 51% of India\u2019s net sown area is rainfed, and produces nearly 40% of the country\u2019s food, making it especially vulnerable to climate variability.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Conventional Farming Methods are not enough: <\/strong>These methods alone may not withstand the rising stresses of climate change.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recent modelling suggests that by the end of the century, yields of staple crops like rice could fall by 3-22%, and in worst-case scenarios by more than 30%.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enhanced Productivity: <\/strong>Climate-resilient agriculture offers a suite of technologies that can enhance productivity while protecting environmental health.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It can also reduce India\u2019s reliance on food imports and strengthen the country\u2019s strategic autonomy in the food sector.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>Global Scenario<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The U.S.<strong> <\/strong>integrates CRA into federal policy through the USDA Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry (CSAF) initiative, investing billions in climate-smart practices.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CRA is embedded in the<strong> EU Green Deal <\/strong>and Farm to Fork Strategy, both aiming to reduce chemical inputs and enhance sustainability.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>China\u2019s CRA strategy<\/strong> centres on climate-tolerant crop breeding, large-scale water-saving irrigation, and agricultural digitalisation.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Brazil<\/strong> leads in tropical climate-resilient crop development, driven by EMBRAPA\u2019s biotechnology research.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Low Adoption:<\/strong> CRA techniques adoption is low among small and marginal farmers due to limited access, awareness, and affordability, and quality inconsistencies in biofertilizers and biopesticides that undermine trust in biological alternatives.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Uneven Distribution: <\/strong>The rollout of climate-resilient seeds remains slow, with the adoption of new tools such as gene editing still emerging and uneven distribution across States.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The digital divide<\/strong> limits the reach of precision agriculture and AI-based decision tools.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>These challenges are compounded by <strong>ongoing soil degradation, water scarcity, and accelerating climate volatility, <\/strong>which may outpace current adaptation efforts.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fragmented policy coordination<\/strong> further risks slowing progress.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Use of Biotechnology in Agriculture&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Department of Biotechnology\u2019s <strong>Agriculture Biotechnology programme <\/strong>supports innovative biotechnological research for achieving sustainable agriculture by leveraging the latest advances in technologies.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The main achievements include:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-dominant-color=\"c3e7ba\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c3e7ba;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"580\" height=\"310\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-78.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-71473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-78.png 580w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-78-300x160.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Climate-Smart Crops:<\/strong> A New Superior Climate Smart Drought Tolerant High-Yielding Chickpea Variety \u201cSAATVIK (NC 9)\u201d with enhanced yield under drought stress was notified recently.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Genome-Edited Crops:<\/strong> Genome editing was employed to generate loss of function mutations in several rice genes that negatively regulate crop productivity.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Amaranth Genetic Resources: <\/strong>The department of biotechnology has developed an Amaranth Genomic Resource Database, Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) techniques for screening nutritional qualities of amaranth grain, and a 64K SNP chip.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Amaranth accessions screened using the above resources have been shown to counteract high fat diet induced obesity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fungal Biocontrol:<\/strong> A stable fungal enzyme nano-formulation from Myrothecium verrucaria has been developed for eco-friendly biocontrol of powdery mildew in tomato and grape.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Initiatives&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture: <\/strong>In 2011, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched a flagship network project<strong> \u2018National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture\u2019<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture <\/strong>has been formulated to enhance agricultural productivity, especially in rainfed areas, focusing on integrated farming, water use efficiency, soil health management, and synergising resource conservation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The BioE3 policy<\/strong> also positioned CRA as a key thematic area for the development of biotechnology-led solutions.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Leading companies <\/strong>such as Biostadt, IFFCO, GSFC, NFL, and IPL Biologicals supply bio-inputs that improve soil health and reduce chemical dependence.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India also has an <strong>expanding digital agriculture sector,<\/strong> with agritech startups offering AI-enabled advisories, precision irrigation, crop-health monitoring, and yield prediction tools.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There is a need to accelerate the development and deployment of climate-tolerant and genome-edited crops.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Financial incentives, climate insurance, and credit access are essential to support farmers during the transition.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India needs a coherent national CRA roadmap under the BioE3 framework, aligning biotechnology, climate adaptation, and policies to deliver resilience at scale.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/tamil-nadu\/the-hindu-to-organise-webinar-on-biotech-for-sustainable-agriculture\/article70838567.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\nWith the agriculture industry projected to grow 2.5 times by 2033, biotech experts underscored the growing importance of agri-biotechnology in the coming years.\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/p>\n<p>What is Climate-resilient Agriculture (CRA)?<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"\t>\nClimate-resilient agriculture uses a range of biotechnology and complementary technologies to guide farming practices and reduce dependence on chemical inputs, while maintaining or improving productivity.\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\nTools include: Biofertilizers and biopesticides, and soil-microbiome analyses.\n<\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/uncategorized\/13-04-2026\/biotechnology-in-traditional-farming \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71472"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71475,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71472\/revisions\/71475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}