Alex Oppenheim Omaha: Biotechnology a Tool for Productivity

In the past few years, biotechnology has been one of the most talked about subjects, as its traits became more and more widely available. Farmers as well as the environment have seen profound benefits from biotechnology. Alex Oppenheim Omaha, biological sciences graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln explains that thanks to this advanced technology, farmers have seen higher crop yields, plus millions of kilograms of pesticides have been eliminated from the environment. In addition to that, we have witnessed a decreased use of fuel use for agriculture.

However, agricultural biotechnology is just one of the many tools that can increase the productivity among farmers and cut down on costs. This will help more people to afford more food and a better quality one. In the hands of small farmers, better seeds can grow more food themselves. Every farmer in the world knows what to do with a seed, and if we take into consideration that about half of the hungry people are in farming families, Alex Oppenheim Omaha believes the key is to provide them access to every tool possible, such as those based on biotechnology.



By now we have learned that innovation is the key to survival of many industries, and in the case of agricultural biotechnology, this couldn’t be closer to the truth. Currently, we are looking for new ways of using our knowledge in order to improve the flavor, texture, nutrition, and other characteristics of foods. Providing enough food for the global demand is directly linked to the question of water resources.

As Alex Oppenheim Omaha states, around 70 percent of the fresh water consumed each year is used for agriculture. Right now, there are global efforts to address drought issues and come up with a plan to grow plants that can handle environmental stress. Plants have their own internal systems developed over time that tells them to shut down when there's a lack of water. Although this is a very important system for protection, unfortunately with some plants the system activates only before its absolutely necessary, leaving no room for future improvement. If scientist can invent a way to buy farmers a little more time before plants shut down for lack of water, they might solve one of the biggest global issues.