The role of biotechnology in the innovative and economic development of agriculture

Issue № 3, 2022, article № 15, pages 131-139

Section: Investment and innovation in agriculture

Language: Russian

Original language title: РОЛЬ БИОТЕХНОЛОГИЙ В ИННОВАЦИОННО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОМ РАЗВИТИИ СЕЛЬСКОГО ХОЗЯЙСТВА

Keywords: APPROACHES TO ASSESSING THE SAFETY OF GMOS, FOREIGN COUNTRIES, ECONOMIC COSTS AND BENEFITS, GM CROPS, BIOTECHNOLOGY, INNOVATIVE ACTIVITY

Abstract: Innovation is currently the main element of the effective development of the state's economy. In developed foreign countries, increased attention is paid to innovation in various fields, including agriculture. One of the most promising areas of innovative development is biotechnology, the achievements of which find their application in a wide range of human activities. Agricultural biotechnology is based on achievements in the field of cellular and molecular biology, genetic engineering, the essence of which can be defined as a set of techniques and methods that provide a directed change in the hereditary properties of an organism by direct gene transfer or by influencing the genes that determine a particular genetic trait. An important direction in the development of biotechnology is the creation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), in particular agricultural crops with specified properties. The most common introduced properties necessary to increase agricultural productivity have become plant resistance to herbicides and insect pests. The article examines the current state of the world production of agricultural GM crops, the main of which at the moment are herbicide-resistant and insect-resistant soybeans, corn, cotton and rapeseed. The data concerning the area of cultivation of GM crops in various regions and countries, the economic costs and benefits of farmers growing them, the volume of additional production growth for the period from 1996 to 2019 are presented. Attention is paid to the legal issues of the turnover of GMOs, the problem of assessing their safety for humans and animals in countries representing two different approaches in this area: the United States and Europe, as well as the perception of GMOs by the world public in connection with concerns about their safety.

Authors: SHelamova Nadezhda Afanasevna