FOOD CROP PRODUCTION TO THE SOCIETY

Crop production is the process of growing crops. Many states grow crops for getting revenue. Crop production happens on large farms. Some of them are organic and some of them are not. There are many different crops that can be produced. For example like cottons, corns, wheat, leafy vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes, watermelon, and rice. Other types of crops include flowers such as sunflowers, whose seeds can be eaten. Orchards also are involved in crop production in terms of growing things such as apples, peaches, oranges, lemons, and nuts. Agriculture produces foods for human consumption. It provides the raw materials for many branches of industry, including the food-processing, mixed-feed, textile, pharmaceutical, and perfume industry. In agriculture the land is the principal means of production. The land, in its varied forms and features, determines the specific forms of agricultural concentration and specialization and makes it incumbent on the agriculturist to use scientific systems of land cultivation to increase soil fertility. Agriculture probably first developed in South Asia and Egypt, then spread to Europe, Africa, the rest of Asia, the islands of the central and South Pacific, and finally to North and South America. Agriculture in the Middle East is believed to date from 9000–7000 BC. Early cultivated crops include wild barley (Middle East), domesticated beans and water chestnuts (Thailand), and pumpkins (the Americas).1

Why I choose this topic is because the yield gains are much higher than what has been reported for other countries where genetically modified crops were used mostly to replace and enhance chemical pest control. In many developing countries, small-scale farmers especially suffer big pest-related yield losses because of technical and economic constraints. Pest-resistant genetically modified crops can contribute to increased yields and agricultural growth in those situations. This may help certain country and the society to take an opportunity to develop a better food crop production system. GM crops not only help to enhance output using fewer resources but also help in addressing many nutritional and health issues confronting Malaysian society, like those pointed out by the Malaysian Agricultural Research Institute's (MARDI) Deputy Director of Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering Programmer, Dr. Indu Bala Jaganath. The nature of agriculture in the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America is determined by local social, economic, and political conditions. Once the developing countries threw off the colonial yoke, many came under economic dependence on the developed capitalist states. Their agriculture is largely underdeveloped, even though most of the population is engaged in agriculture—for example, 82 percent in Afghanistan, 68 percent in India, 70 percent in Indonesia, 55 percent in Egypt, 84 percent in Kenya, and 91 percent in Mali.2

Of the seven crops listed, six are annual crops that must be replanted each year (only hay crops would be left in place from year to year). The process of cultivating crops typically begins with tillage of the soil. Although tillage can serve a number of functions within a crop production system, the most fundamental function is to create conditions that will ensure good contact between seed and soil at the time of seed planting and the ready availability of water to the seed during germination. The degree to which the soil is disturbed by tillage prior to seed planting provides a means of categorizing crop production within a range of tillage systems. These systems range from no-tillage in which there is not soil disturbance in a field except during the process of planting a crop to conventional tillage in which multiple tillage operations can extend over many months and take place before, during, and after planting. Crop production systems that involve pre-plant tillage but maintain residues from a previous crop on the soil surface are referred to as conservation tillage practices. Against a background of a static or declining area of land available for crop and livestock production and a decreasing rate of crop improvement through conventional breeding, there is a need for new technology to increase crop yield, improve nutritional quality of food and reduce crop losses. Societal pressure suggests this will need to be achieved in a manner ensuring safety for the public and the environment.3

Modern science has also revolutionized food processing; refrigeration, for example, has made possible the large meatpacking plants and shipment and packaging of perishable foods.2 Urbanization has fostered the specialties of market gardening and truck farming. Harvesting operations have been mechanized for almost every plant product grown. Breeding programs have developed highly specialized animal, plant, and poultry varieties, thus increasing production efficiency. In the United States and other leading food-producing nations agricultural colleges and government agencies attempt to increase output by disseminating knowledge of improved agricultural practices, by the release of new plant and animal types, and by continuous intensive research into basic and applied scientific principles relating to agricultural production and economics. Many different factors influence the kind of agriculture practiced in a particular area. Among these are climate, soil, water availability, topographies, near to markets, transportation facilities, land costs, and general economic level. Climate, soil, water availability, and topography vary widely throughout the world. This variation brings about a wide range in agricultural production enterprises. As new technology is introduced and adopted, environmental factors are less important in influencing agricultural production patterns. Continued growth in the world's population makes critical the continuing ability of agriculture to provide needed food and fiber.4

The crop traits targeted through genetic engineering are not completely different from those pursued by conventional breeding. Nonetheless, because genetic engineering allows for the direct gene transfer across species boundaries, some traits that were previously difficult or impossible to breed can now be developed with relative ease. Worldwide on-going research and development for the coming generations of genetically modified (GM) crops include improved quality traits such as higher nutrient contents of food products to help improve the health status of consumers, crops modified to produce special substances for pharmaceutical or industrial purposes, and crops designed to be heat, drought or salt tolerant for adopting to climate change, or for the use of low- and no-till farming methods, fuel use and CO 2 emissions to help mitigate climate change and bring about environmental benefits3. Some of them are in the pipeline for commercial production. Genetic engineering is aimed at benefiting mankind. Therefore food manufacturers would never purposely use a known toxin or allergen because it is not in the manufacturer interest to market foods that would hurt their customers, consumers, or anyone. In addition, GM food manufacturers subject such foods to more rigorous testing than is required of traditionally bred fruits and vegetables or animals. Generally the basis for the opposing the use of the biotechnology in food crop production are based on two concerns; the concern on the production technology itself and the concern on the business intention of using such technology.5

In the North and West United States the era of mechanized agriculture began with the invention of such farm machines as the reaper, the cultivator, the thresher, and the combine. Other revolutionary innovations, e.g., the tractor, continued to appear over the years, leading to a new type of large-scale agriculture. Modern science has also revolutionized food processing; refrigeration, for example, has made possible the large meatpacking plants and shipment and packaging of perishable foods. Urbanization has fostered the specialties of market gardening and truck farming. Harvesting operations have been mechanized for almost every plant product grown. Breeding programs have developed highly specialized animal, plant, and poultry varieties, thus increasing production efficiency. The development of genetic engineering has given rise to genetically modified transgenic crops and, to a lesser degree, livestock that possess a gene from an unrelated species that confers a desired quality. Such modification allows livestock to be used as "factories" for the production of growth hormone and other substances. In the United States and other leading food-producing nations agricultural colleges and government agencies attempt to increase output by disseminating knowledge of improved agricultural practices, by the release of new plant and animal types, and by continuous intensive research into basic and applied scientific principles relating to agricultural production and economics.6

Religious views on genetically modified foods have been mixed, although as yet, no genetically modified foods (GM) foods have been designated as unacceptable by religious authorities. Islam too forbids eating of pork, and Islamic scholars have also raised concern about the theoretical production of foods with genes from pigs. And there are varying perspectives. A seminar of Islamic scholars in Kuwait on genetics and genetic engineering in October 1998 concluded that although there are fears about the possibility of the harmful effects of GM food technology and GM food products on human beings and the environment, there are no laws within Islam which stop the genetic modification of food crops and animals. And in 2003, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) approved the importation and consumption of genetically modified food products by Indonesian Muslims. Others have written that while there are Quranic verses forbidding humanity from defacing God's creation, these "cannot be invoked as a total and radical ban on genetic engineering ... If carried too far, it would conflict with many forms of curative surgery that also entail some change in God's creation". Voices in opposition to GMOs argue, based on the Quran, that there is no need for genetic modification of food crops because God created everything perfectly and man does not have any right to manipulate anything that God has created nor to tamper with it.7

. Between 1990 and 1995 the annual amount of pesticide active ingredients used in the EU declined from 307,000 t to 253,000 t which represents an 18% reduction. This was due to a number of factors including lower dose rates, better application technology, changes in farm management practices, national mandatory reduction schemes, as well as payment for agri-environmental schemes. The EU 6th Environmental Action Plan has continued to focus on pesticide reduction as a priority in relation to environmental degradation. It is against this background of reducing pesticide input that the potential of GM crops to further reduce pesticide use in the EU will be estimated. In countries where GM crops are at present widely grown, published data presented in this paper shows that the adoption of GM technology can lead to a marked reduction in pesticide use. However, the size of the reduction varies between crops and the introduced trait. For example only a modest reduction in pesticide use of 10% is associated with the introduction HT soybeans but a large and highly significant reduction of 60% in pesticide use is recorded for varieties of cotton. Although the total reduction in pesticide use of 2.9 million kg associated with HT soybeans is important the most valuable contribution to environmental benefits of GM soybeans may be that they encourage farmers to use conservation tillage techniques. While detailed consideration of this topic is beyond the scope of this paper further work is needed to quantify the environmental benefits associated with conservation tillage.8

The so-called green revolution, whose proponents wish to introduce high-yield, drought-resistant strains of wheat, rice, and corn, to plant larger areas in these crops, and to make use of mineral fertilizers, has not brought significant results. Self-sufficiency in grain has still not been attained. Per capita grain production has been low—212 kg in 1973, or one-third that of the developed capitalist countries and almost one-fourth that of the members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.5 Growth rates for other agricultural products are low, forcing the developing countries into greater dependence on imported food. In 1972 and 1973,37 million tons of wheat were imported. Low per capita grain production and slow growth rates for other products have led to a chronic food shortage and widespread undernourishment. According to UN statistics, 20 to 25 percent of the population in the Far East, Middle East, and Africa suffer from hunger. In all, about 460 million people are undernourished. The solution to the food problem requires radical agrarian changes and much greater intensification of agricultural production.9

To conclude, demanding evidence of zero risk before allowing a new technology is fundamentally at odds with any practical strategy for investigating new technologies. Mobile phones might never have seen the light of day if such stringent demands had been placed on them. In the case of GM technology it is clearly crucial to ask what the risks of adopting GM crops are. But it is also important to ask what the risks of not doing so are. Realistic cost-benefit analyses that consider local social and environmental conditions and development goals are needed on a country-by-country basis. Heated debate about the food crisis must not detract from an evidence-based assessment of biotechnology’s potential for improving agricultural productivity in developing countries. The benefits of GM crops must not be overstated. But neither can poor arguments be allowed to obscure strong arguments for a good cause. It is not necessary to accept the risks posed by GM crops when conventional breeding – sometimes assisted by safe biotechnologies such as marker assisted selection – continues to successfully produce crops that are high-yielding, drought-tolerant, climate-ready, pest- and disease-resistant, and nutritious. Conventional breeding, the existing crop varieties developed by farmers worldwide, and agro-ecological farming methods, are proven effective methods of meeting our current and future food needs.10

1 Faddeev, N. V. Sovet ekonomicheskoi vzaimopomoshchi. Moscow, 1974

2Xia, J.Y., Cui, J.J., Ma, L.H., Dong, S.X., Cui, S.X., 1999. The role of transgenic Bt cotton in integrated pest management . Acta. Gossypii Sinica 11, 57-64 14

3Hammond, B.G., Fuchs, R.L., 2000. Safety and advantages of Bacillus

4Riebe, J.F., Zalewski, J.C., 2001. Pesticide reduction and disease control with genetically modified potato. Envir. Biosafety Res. (In press)

5U.S. USDA. NASS. 2007 Census of Agriculture, 2008 Organic Production Survey. Web. 27 Jan. 2010.

6Rola, A.C., Pingali, P.L., 1993. Pesticides, rice productivity and farmers health: an economic assessment. Los Banos, Philippines, and Washington, D.C. International Rice

7Addison, S. 1999. Ingard cotton: Research and performance review 1998-1999

8Hammond, B.G., Fuchs, R.L., 2000. Safety and advantages of Bacillus ; pg255 

9Faddeev, N. V. Sovet ekonomicheskoi vzaimopomoshchi. Moscow, 1974

10U.S. USDA. NASS. 2007 Census of Agriculture, 2008 Organic Production Survey. Web. 27 Jan. 2010