what are the economics, social and environmental value of conventional and molecular plant breeding?
Conventional plant breeding and molecular plant breeding are two different approaches to developing new plant varieties. Both methods have their own economic, social, and environmental advantages and disadvantages.
Conventional plant breeding involves the process of selecting and crossbreeding plants with desirable traits over many generations. This method has been used for thousands of years and has led to the development of many of the crops we rely on today. The economic value of conventional plant breeding lies in the fact that it is a relatively low-cost method compared to molecular breeding. It also has a high success rate in developing new varieties that are well-suited to local conditions. From a social perspective, conventional breeding allows farmers to save and share seed, which can be an important source of community resilience and food security. However, conventional breeding can be slow and unpredictable, with many plant varieties taking several years or even decades to develop. It can also be limited in its ability to develop crops with complex traits, such as resistance to multiple pests or diseases.
Molecular plant breeding, on the other hand, involves the use of advanced genetic techniques to select and manipulate specific genes within a plant. This method has the potential to develop new plant varieties much faster than conventional breeding, and to create crops with highly desirable traits such as drought tolerance, disease resistance, and increased yield. The economic value of molecular breeding lies in the fact that it can be highly targeted, reducing the amount of time and resources required to develop new varieties. It also has the potential to develop crops that are more resilient to climate change, which could have important environmental and social benefits. However, molecular breeding can be expensive and requires a high level of technical expertise. There are also concerns about the safety and ethical implications of genetically modifying plants.
In terms of environmental value, both conventional and molecular breeding have the potential to create more sustainable and resilient crop systems. By developing crops that are adapted to local conditions, both methods can reduce the need for synthetic inputs such as pesticides and fertilizers, which can have negative environmental impacts. Additionally, both methods have the potential to develop crops that are more resilient to climate change, which could help to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events and other environmental stresses.
Overall, both conventional and molecular plant breeding have their own economic, social, and environmental advantages and disadvantages. The choice of which method to use will depend on a range of factors, including the desired traits of the crop, the available resources, and the ethical and regulatory frameworks in place. @Kasun Hasitha Neranjana
Plant breeding has increased primary agricultural product supply by a significant amount, thus stabilising markets and reducing price volatility, according to the study results. Higher yields per unit of arable land increase the EU's supply of primary agricultural products to international markets. Breeding through controlled mating enables farmers to breed animals that are more resistant to the impacts of climate change, such as sudden changes in temperature, prolonged droughts or the appearance of new diseases. Molecular breeding allows recovery of the highest portion of the recurrent parent, with desired genes, in the shortest number of generations. It is possible to identify between homozygous and heterozygous plants through DNA markers, Threfore, it helps in rapid transfer of desirable gene. Plant breeding save scarce land resources around the globe by generating higher yields per unit of area. In other words, plant breeding minimizes the net virtual land. In the absence of plant breeding for major arable crops in the past 20 years, the global agricultural acreage in 2020 would have to be expanded by more than 21.5 million hectares
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