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Demonstrating the benefit of agricultural biotechnology in developing countries by bridging the public and private sectors

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Currently, hunger affects nearly 12 per cent of the world’s population — 4 per cent more than in 2015, when the United Nations launched the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. If all scientific knowledge and technological innovation in crop development were readily available and globally adopted, could zero hunger have been achieved by 2030? Most people recognize the potential for agricultural biotechnology to contribute to food security. However, there has been limited application and adoption of new crop varieties in countries that are disproportionately affected by malnutrition and food insecurity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank E. Krebbers and S. Kaplan for providing an external perspective and constructive feedback that focused and clarified the dialogue.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Michael O. Itam, Sessen D. Iohannes.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA

    Michael O. Itam

  2. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA

    Sessen D. Iohannes

  3. Albertsen Crop Genetics for Humanity, Johnston, IA, USA

    Marc Albertsen

  4. CIP-Mozambique, International Potato Center, Maputo, Mozambique

    Maria Andrade

  5. Global Farmer Network, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Eldoret, Kenya

    Gilbert arap Bor

  6. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria

    Kwesi Atta-Krah

  7. United States Agency for International Development, Washington, DC, USA

    Robert Bertram

  8. West African Center for Crop Improvement, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

    Eric Danquah

  9. 2Blades Foundation, Evanston, IL, USA

    Diana M. Horvath

  10. Corteva Agriscience, Johnston, IA, USA

    Todd Jones

  11. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Edith Mugehu

  12. National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, Nigeria

    Ihuoma Okwuonu

  13. McKinsey & Company, Nairobi, Kenya

    Amandla Ooko-Ombaka

  14. New England BioLabs, Ipswich, MA, USA

    Richard J. Roberts

  15. International Rice Research Institute, Calabarzon, Philippines

    Inez Slamet-Loedin

  16. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Leena Tripathi

  17. Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan

    Benjamin Ewa Ubi

  18. WA State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre, Centre for Crop & Food Innovation, Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia

    Rajeev K. Varshney

  19. International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy

    Vittorio Venturi

  20. National Agricultural Research Organisation, Kampala, Uganda

    Henry Wagaba

  21. Portland, OR, USA

    Robert Zeigler

  22. Grow More Foundation, New York, NY, USA

    Kate M. Creasey Krainer

Authors
  1. Michael O. Itam
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  2. Sessen D. Iohannes
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  3. Marc Albertsen
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  4. Maria Andrade
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  5. Gilbert arap Bor
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  6. Kwesi Atta-Krah
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  7. Robert Bertram
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  8. Eric Danquah
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  9. Diana M. Horvath
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  10. Todd Jones
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  11. Edith Mugehu
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  12. Ihuoma Okwuonu
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  13. Amandla Ooko-Ombaka
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  14. Richard J. Roberts
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  15. Inez Slamet-Loedin
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  16. Leena Tripathi
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  17. Benjamin Ewa Ubi
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  18. Rajeev K. Varshney
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  19. Vittorio Venturi
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  20. Henry Wagaba
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  21. Robert Zeigler
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  22. Kate M. Creasey Krainer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kate M. Creasey Krainer.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Itam, M.O., Iohannes, S.D., Albertsen, M. et al. Demonstrating the benefit of agricultural biotechnology in developing countries by bridging the public and private sectors. Nat. Plants 10, 2–5 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01604-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01604-9

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