biotechnology: impacts on sustainable food security in

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International Journal of Science and Science Education (IJOSSE)

International Journal of Science and Science Education (IJOSSE) International Journal of Science and Science Education, Vol. 6(1), pp. 21 – 26, July, 2016 Available online at http://www.josseo.org ISSN 0775-1353 ©2016

BIOTECHNOLOGY: IMPACTS ON SUSTAINABLE FOOD SECURITY IN A DEMOCRATIZED NATION Sabejeje, T. A., Olaniyan, R. F., Adebola, O. T., and Fadayomi, I. E. 

some desired goals in living organisms. Such physiological and biochemical processes may be affected in microorganisms, plants and animals including man. Convention on Biological Diversity (2008), describes biotechnology as “Any technological application that uses biological system, living organisms and their derivatives to modify other living organisms for specific use”. Biotechnology draws on the pure biological science like genetics, microbiology, animal cell culture, molecular biology, biochemistry, embryology, cell biology and in many instances dependent on knowledge and methods from outside the sphere of biology such as chemical engineering, bioprocess engineering, information technology and a host of others. The field of modern biotechnology is taught to have begun on 16th of June, 1980 when the United State Supreme Court ruled that a genetically modified microorganism (a bacterium derived from pseudomonas genus) could be patented and made capable of breaking down crude oil –a process that was proposed to be used in oil spillage. (Diamond and Chakrabarty, 1980). Biotechnology sector has also been known to have played a remarkable role on the U.S. farming industries. It has allowed the industries to rapidly increase their supply of corns and soya beans by developing genetically modified seeds that are resistant to pests, herbicides and drought. Crops that are developed through this process are referred to as transgenic crops. The introduction of these transgenic crops has no doubt encouraged and guaranteed sustainable food security in many countries especially in the democratized nations where the citizens are given free hands to practice agriculture without the fear of undue political influence and with full access to government assistance (financial and moral). Biotechnology has found its applications in major sectors of the nation’s economy but the area which is of paramount importance to this paper is the agricultural sector which embraces biological/genetically engineering (gene therapy and genetic testing). This sector is responsible for producing enough food for the citizenry for them to live an active and healthy life. In other words, the sector is entrusted with the nation’s food security and safety. However, the problems facing food production and food security are enormous. Astronomical growth in global population, climate change, pests, herbicides, loss of agricultural lands to residential and industrial development and the ever–increasing consumer demands are some of the major constraints militating against sustainable food security in most countries. However, the introduction of transgenic

Abstract— One of the major problems facing rural communities in both developing and under-developed nations of the world is the daily struggles to put enough food on the table at each meal time. Many people go hungry as a result of inability to provide enough food for themselves and their households. The consequence of this is hunger, malnutrition and stunting growth, which make them (especially the children) less immuned and more vulnerable to infections hence high mortality rate. The gravity of the current global food crisis is the result of many years of under-investment in agriculture, neglect of the sector, lack of access to fund by the farmers resulting in subsistent farming, poor food safety and processing system ,climate change, loss of agricultural land to residential and industrial development, lack of access to mechanized farming (technological farming), inconsistent government policies, and the astronomical increase in world population with high demand for food. All these factors contribute to low food productivity and the little that are produced are unsecured. Where mechanized farming is being practiced with the use of modern technological equipments, there is no doubt that food productivity is high but security and safety of these crops is often not guaranteed. In addition, cultivation of transgenic crops that are resistant to potential hazards (chemical, physical and biological) is not encouraged. Most of the technological equipments used in producing and processing these crops are abiotic in nature (devoid of living organisms and biological processes) thereby making their applications cumbersome and expensive. The advent of biotechnology which is a form of biological engineering or genetic engineering involving the use of living organisms to suit human purposes especially in the production of transgenic crops at a simple and relatively inexpensive cost has in no small means brought about a remarkable improvement in agriculture thereby guaranteeing sustainable food security. This paper therefore reviews the various ways in which biotechnology has made tremendous impacts in sustaining food security especially in the area of production of transgenic crops, the challenges facing food security and measures by which these challenges can be surmounted Keywords—. I. INTRODUCTION

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ATUBARIN, (2006) defined biotechnology as the scientific application of modern technology to bring about certain physiological and biochemical processes to achieve T. A. Sabejeje is with the Department of Biology, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, Ondo State, Nigeria. (phone: +2348067659158 ; e-mail: [email protected] ). R. F. Olaniyan, is with the Department of Biology, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, Ondo State, Nigeria. O. T. Adebola, is with the Department of Biology, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, Ondo State, Nigeria. I. E. Fadayomi is with the Department of Biology, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, Ondo State, Nigeria.

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Sabejeje, T. A., Olaniyan, R. F., Adebola, O. T., and Fadayomi, I. E.

crops into the Nation’s agricultural system has increased tremendously good qualitative and hazard-resistant crops in the farming practice hence high and sustainable food production, food security and food safety. This paper therefore aims at reviewing the impacts of biotechnology on sustainable food security with particular emphasis on its applications in the production of Transgenic crops, challenges facing food security in most democratic nations and ways by which these challenges could be surmounted.

the most from chronic hunger but are also the segment of the population most at risk during food shortage and famine. According to F.A.O. (2010), about 925 million people have been reported to be chronically hungry due to extreme poverty while 2 billion people lack food security intermittently due to varying degrees of poverty. Six million children have also been reported to be dying every year i.e. 17,000 children every day. Food security is not the same as food safety. While food security deals with preventing and minimizing deliberate contamination of food products, food safety addresses the accidental contamination of food products during processing or storage by biological, chemical or physical hazards and the main types of food safety hazards are microbes, chemicals and foreign objects. Food security is built on three main pillars: i. Food Availability which has to do with sufficient quantities of food being made available on a consistent basis. ii. Food Access which entails having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate food for nutritious diet. iii. Food Use which is concerned with appropriate use of food based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care as well as adequate water and sanitation.

II. FOOD SECURITY

It is often expressed that one of the reasons why many countries especially the under-developed and the developing ones are still battling with development is because of the abundant natural resources that are available but security ,safety and sustainable utilization of these resources remain a question yet unanswered. This is because the positive impacts of biotechnology are not fully felt in the agricultural sector of the economy. For example, inspite of the Green Revolution embarked upon by many African countries (Nigeria inclusive), virtually all nations in the African continent are food insecure. Food is not enough and there is widespread malnutrition and hunger. We only produce foods but the foods are not secured. The term security, according to the Advanced English Dictionary refers to measures taken as a precaution to guarantee the protection and safety of any object or situation against potential hazards, danger or injury thereby ensuring its prolonged usage. The World Food Summit of 1966, defined food security as a process by which foods are protected against hazards thereby allowing all people at all times to have access to sufficient ,safe nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life. The concept of food security includes both physical and economic access to food that meets people dietary needs as well as their food preference for living a healthy life. Food security therefore implies that citizens are not living in hunger or fear of hunger. They are not malnourished and the nation is able to produce enough food to meet the demands of its citizens. Food security involves preventing, minimizing or responding to the deliberate contamination of food products by a variety of potential threat agents(biological, chemical or radiological).It is a complex sustainable development issue that is linked with health and survival in any democratic society .Issues such as whether households get enough food, how the food is being distributed within the households and whether the food fulfils the nutritional needs of all members of the households buttress the fact that food security is clearly linked to health. When the nation’s food is not protected, food insecurity sets in. Food insecurity can be categorized as either chronic or transitory. Chronic food insecurity often translates into a high degree and prolonged vulnerability to famine, malnutrition and hunger. However, hunger is not the same as famine but similar to undernourishment and is related to poverty which now prevails in poor countries. A direct relationship exists between food consumption levels and poverty. Families that are blessed with the financial resources to escape extreme poverty rarely suffer from chronic hunger while poor families not only suffer

III. EFFECTS OF FOOD INSECURITY

When the nation’s food is not protected, food insecurity ensues. Food insecured people are those whose food intake falls below their minimum calories (energy) requirement as well as those who exhibit physical symptoms caused by energy and nutrient deficiencies due to inadequate or unbalanced diet or the body’s inability to use food effectively as a result of infections or diseases. The major effect of food insecurity is perpetual food shortage and distribution problem. This often results in chronic widespread hunger and malnutrition among significant number of people. The Food and Agricultural Organization (F.A.O.) of the United Nations estimates that about 925 million people were chronically undernourished in the world in 2010. The World Food Programme Statistics (2012) reported that the number of malnourished people in the world exceeds 1 billion which is about one sixth of the world total population. The statistics also revealed that sixth million children die of starvation every year indicating that approximately one kid dies every six seconds. Starvation describes a state of the body’s exhaustion caused by lack of food. This often precedes ill health. Human population responds to chronic hunger and malnutrition by decreasing body size – a condition known in medical term as stunting or stunted growth. This process starts in vitro if the mother is malnourished and continues through the third year of life. This condition often leads to higher infant and child mortality but at a rate far lower than during famine. Once stunting has started, improved nutritional intake later in life cannot reverse the damage. Stunting itself is viewed as a coping mechanism designed to bring body size into alignment with the calories available during adulthood. Limiting body size therefore serves as a way of adapting to low levels of energy (calories) but adversely affects health in three ways; i. Premature failure of vital organs occurs during adulthood. 22

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For example, a 50 year old person might die of heart failure because his heart suffers structural defects during his early development. ii. Stunted individuals suffer a far higher rate of disease and illness due to lack of body immunity. iii. Leads to severe malnutrition especially in early childhood. Malnutrition is a general term for a condition caused by improper diet or nutrition and can occur in conjunction with both under and over consumption of calories but mostly from under consumption It leads to poor health hence individuals fail to provide for their families and if this situation is left unaddressed, hunger sets in motion an array of outcomes that perpetuate malnutrition, reduced ability of adults to work and give birth to strong and healthy children The ability of these children to learn and live a healthy, productive and happy life is eventually eroded. This truncation of human development undermines the country’s potential for economic development for generations yet unborn. Some children receive as low as half the calories their bodies need. This makes them more vulnerable to various infections which lead to increased, absenteesm, lethergy, inability to concentrate hence poor academic performance.

environmental stresses hence food security. For example, drought, extremely salty soils, fungi, bacteria, pesticides, herbicides, over-dependence on fertilizers and other agrochemicals are some of the important limiting factors in crop productivity. The introduction of transgenic organisms through modern biotechnology has brought a tremendous relief to these crop plants and animals to cope with the environmental stresses. A transgenic crop plant contains a gene(s), which have been artificially inserted instead of the plant acquiring these genes through pollination. The inserted gene sequence (transgene) may come from another unrelated plant or from a completely different species. Transgenic organisms (plants and animals) are results of genetic engineering experiments in which genetic materials are transferred from one organism to another so that the later exhibits a particular desirable characteristic(s). Business corporations, scientists and farmers practice transgenic techniques with the hope that the technique will allow more cost-effective and precise plants and animals with desirable characteristics that are not available using up-to-date breeding technology. Transgenic techniques allow genetic materials to be transferred between unrelated organisms. One of the latest developments in this area is the identification of a plant gene (At-DBF2) from Arabidopsis thaliana: which is a tiny weed that is often used for genetic engineering in plants. Biotechnology reveals that when the gene of this plant was inserted into tomato and tobacco cells, the cells were able to withstand harsh environmental stresses like salt, drought, cold and heat far more than ordinary cells. Also, biotechnological research has discovered transgenic rice plants that are resistant to Rice Yellow Mottle Virus (RYMV).This virus has been known to destroy majority of the rice crops and makes the surviving plants more susceptible to fungal infections. According to the National Academy of Science (2001), about 85 million tons of wheat flower is used every year to bake bread. Biotechnology discovered an enzyme called Maltogenic amylase which when added to the flower makes bread to stay longer and fresher. Most of the current commercial applications of biotechnology in agriculture are also aimed at reducing the dependence of farmers on agrochemicals. For example, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) which is a soil bacterium was discovered to produce protein with insecticidal qualities. This Bt toxin occurs as an inactive protein which requires digestion by an insect to be effective. There are several of this Bt toxins each of which is specific to particular target insects. Crop plants have been engineered to contain and express the genes for Bt toxins which they produce in active form. When a susceptible insect ingests the transgenic crop cultivar expressing the Bt toxin, it stops feeding and soon thereafter dies as a result of the Bt toxin building into it’s gut wall. Bt corn is now commercially available in a number of countries to control borers (Lepidopteran insects) which were hitherto controlled by spraying chemical insecticides. In order for a transgenic technique to work, the genetic engineer must first construct a transgene which is the gene to be introduced plus a control sequence. When making a

Table 1: Share of malnutrition people in the developing world. Source: F.A.O of the United Nation (2010).

IV. APPLICATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSGENIC PLANTS AND ANIMALS

Cultivation of plants and breeding of animals have been viewed as the earliest biotechnological enterprise. Agriculture has been theorized to have become the dominant way of producing food since the Neolithic Revolution. Through early biotechnology, farmers were able to select the best suited crops having the highest yields to produce enough food to support a growing population. Specific organisms and organism by-products were used to fertilize, restore nitrogen and control pests. Through biotechnology, farmers have inadvertently altered the genetics of their crops by introducing them to new environment and breeding them with other new plants. For thousands of years, humans have used selective breeding to improve production of crops and livestocks for food. In selective breeding, organisms with desirable characteristics are mated to produce offspring with the same characteristics. For example, this technique was used with corns to produce the largest and the sweetest crops. Thus, increases in crop yields were then the most obvious application of biotechnology in agriculture. However, the introduction of modern biotechnology has now brought about the development of transgenic organisms into modern agriculture. Transgenic organisms are plants and animals containing characteristics that are able to withstand biotic and abiotic stresses thus reducing their vulnerability to 23

Sabejeje, T. A., Olaniyan, R. F., Adebola, O. T., and Fadayomi, I. E.

transgene, the scientist (genetic engineer) usually substitutes the original promoter sequence with one that will be active in the correct tissues of the recipient plants or animal. A transgenic animal results from insertion of a foreign gene into an embryo. After insertion, the foreign gene becomes a permanent part of the host (recipient) animal’s genetic material. As the embryo develops in the host, the foreign gene may be present in many cells of the body, including the germ cells of the testis or the ovary. If the transgenic animal becomes fertile, the inserted foreign gene (transgene) will be inherited by future progeny. Thus, a transgenic animal once created, can persist into future generations. The technique for creating a transgenic animal involves the following steps; i. Picking a foreign gene. ii. Placing the foreign gene in a suitable form called a “construct” which guides the insertion of the foreign gene into the host animal genome and encourages its expression iii. Injecting the construct into a single fertilized egg or at the very early embryo stage of the host animal. Transgenic crops that have been found to express tolerance to a broad spectrum herbicides like glyphosphate, glufosinate and bromoxynil have now been developed. These herbicides can now be sprayed on these transgenic crops without inflicting any damage on the crops while at the same time killing nearby weeds.

seasons when farmers plant their crops change dramatically due to unpredictable changes in climate especially soil temperature and moisture conditions. These conditions often lead to low yields in agricultural products especially in the low latitudes and tropical regions. Many developing countries in the temperate world suffer from glacier during winter when the whole land is almost covered with snow leaving little or no space for cultivation. Countries in the tropical regions suffer severe drought during dry seasons. Farmlands in the savannah and desert areas of the tropical regions suffer untold hardship from drought and fire during dry season. The only succour these farmers get during this period is irrigation system from nearby rivers or lakes. High Cost of Biotechnology: Current high regulatory costs imposed on transgenic crops developed from biotechnology poses a serious problem to crop production and sustainable food security in most developing nations. However, there are some institutes and research groups that have projects in which biotechnology is shared with contact people in less developed countries on a non-profit basis. These institutes make use of biotechnological methods that do not involve high research and registration costs such as conservation and multiplication of germplasm. Apart from genetic engineering, other forms of biotechnology also hold promise for enhancing food security. For instance, perennial rice is being developed in China which could dramatically reduce the cost of soil erosion on upland small-scale farms Poor Processing Methods: Processing of food implies carrying out a series of operations or changes on foods for the purpose of achieving a particular desired objective. It involves the various actions carried to change the food from raw stage to finished products and storage stage for future use. Most of the food crops produced in many developing countries are seasonal. At certain seasons, the foods are produced in surplus while at another season, it becomes scarce. The question then arises on ways and how to preserve and conserve this surplus for future use especially during the period of scarcity and if proper processing techniques are not employed in preserving, conserving and storing the food, the surplus becomes wasted during the period of abundance thereby creating scarcity during unfavourable seasons. Food crops that are vulnerable to wastage and destruction during seasons of abundance include yam, onion, beans, tomato, banana, pepper, okro, orange, mango and a host of other export crops like cocoa, cotton, palm oil etc. These crops are usually produced in surplus during their harvesting season and if they are not well processed and preserved at this period, they rotten very fast thereby creating scarcity in unfavourable season. Different factories have sprang up for the processing and preservation of many of these foods for future use but inconsistent government policies, political instability and the general global economic meltdown have crippled the establishment and sustenance of these factories. To worsen the situation, foreign investments in agriculture are not encouraged for fear of political and religious insecurity. Investors cannot guarantee the safety of their lives and properties. A major

V. CHALLENGES FACING FOOD SECURITY There is a great deal of debate around food security with some schools of thought arguing that there is enough food in the world to feed everybody adequately but the problem lies in the political will of most countries especially the developing nations to fairly distribute this food to all and sundry regardless of their political ,tribal and religion affiliation. It is worthy of note that inspite of the green revolution program embarked upon, virtually all nations in Africa are food insecure. The number of people without enough food to eat on a regular basis remains stubbornly high and there is widespread malnourishment and hunger among the citizens. Even, where productivity is high, storage or preservation technology is lacking thereby rendering the food unsecured. Other factors militating against food security include; Global Water Crisis:Water is a very crucial requirement for agriculture. It is essential for dissolution of soil nutrients for easy absorption and upward conduction by plants. Unfortunately, the water tables in many countries are falling due to widespread over pumping using powerful diesels and electric pumps. Also, the wells of small farmers and local people are running dry while water supplies in urban cities are under serious threat. Large-scale farmers and other agro-allied companies solve this problem by embarking on irrigation systems to supply water to their farmlands. However, governments owe it a duty to assist local and subsistence farmers by providing irrigation services to these farmers from nearby rivers and lakes. Climate Change: The timing and length of the growing 24

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solution to this problem is for governments to re-orientate their priority towards developing and encouraging science and technology especially in the area of agriculture with greater emphasis on the production of transgenic crops, food processing, preservation and storage. Also, machineries for agricultural and other agro-allied ventures should be made easily available to both subsistence and large –scale farmers at affordable costs and devoid of undue political influence. Governments should also create safe and enabling environment for investors (most especially foreign investors) in the area of science and technology. Political Influence-(Dictatorship and kleptocrazy): While drought, climate change and other naturally occurring factors trigger famine conditions, it is worthy of note that government actions and inactions determine its severity. When governments come to power either by force or through rigged elections and not by way of fair and open elections, their base of support is often narrow and usually built upon cronyism and corrupt patronage. Under such conditions, the distribution of food and other resources within the country becomes a political issue. Some governments in most countries give priority to urban areas where their most influential and powerful associates and enterprises are located. Some governments often neglect the subsistence farmers and rural areas completely, focusing attention mainly on the large–scale entrepreneurs. Many agrarian policies especially the pricing of agricultural commodities discriminate against rural areas. These policies often keep prices of basic food crops especially grains at such artificially low levels that subsistence producers cannot obtain enough capital to improve on their production. Thus, they are effectively prevented from getting out of their precarious situation. In some war-torn countries, dictators and warlords have used food as a political weapon to reward their supporters while denying food supplies to areas that oppose their political rule. Under such conditions, food becomes a currency with which to buy survival and famine becomes an effective weapon to be used against their opposition. Governments with strong tendencies towards kleptocrazy can undermine food security even when harvests are good. When government monopolizes trade, farmers may find that they are free to grow cash crops for export but under penalty of law, only able to sell these crops to government buyers at prices far below the world market price. The government is then free to sell these crops on the world market at full price, pocketing the difference. This often creates an artificial “poverty trap” from which even the most hardworking and motivated farmers may not escape. Also, the privatization of services like health, water and sanitation by governments in many developing countries has indirectly hindered the citizens from escaping these poverty traps hence their ability to sustainably produce enough food for themselves and for market is seriously constrained. But, if the rule of law is removed, farmers will have little incentives to improve their productivity and when a farm becomes noticeably more productive than its neighbouring farms, it becomes the target of individuals including government. Rather than risks being envisaged and

possibly losing its land to government, the farmer becomes contented with the perceived safety and mediocrity. As pointed out by William Bernstein in his book titled “The birth of plenty”, individuals without property are susceptible to starvation and it is much easier to bend the fearful and hungry to the will of government. However, there are many economic approaches the government can employ to improve food security in any democratic society. These include; Maximizing farmers profit which proves to be the surest way of maximizing agricultural production The higher a farmer’s profit, the greater the efforts he puts into it. A higher profit automatically translates into higher spending on technologies designed to boost production such as drip irrigation systems, agricultural education (in form of extension services) and green houses. Increased profits also increase the farmer’s incentives to engage in double cropping, soil improvement programs and expanding usable land areas. All these are geared towards improving food production and sustainable food security.

VI. GENDER FACTOR Gender inequality is a major cause of inadequate food production, vis-avis food insecurity and poverty. In 2009, the United Nation estimated that 60% of the world’s chronically hungry people are women and girls, most of who live in developing countries. When women have an income, substantial evidence indicates that the income is more likely to be spent on food and children’s needs. Women are generally responsible for food selection and preparation and for the care and feeding of children. Women play important roles in land use, crop production, processing, distribution, and marketing of agricultural products. They often work as unpaid contributing family workers or self-employed producers and caretakers of children and the elderly. Women farmers represent more than a quarter of the world’s population comprising on average 43% of the agricultural workers in the developing countries. Unfortunately, they have less access than men to agricultural assets, imputs and services. The United State Agency for International Development Program “Feed the Future” quotes on their website that “Woman’s contributions to agricultural production go unrecognized”. This is because inspite of their roles in agricultural production, women’s access to land and other key productive resources are limited and they rarely have legal control over the land they farm. Reducing gender inequality and recognizing the contributions of women to agriculture is crucial to achieving global food security. There are convincing and compelling evidences that when the status of a woman is improved especially in the area of agriculture, crop productivity and food security also increase. This will eventually result in poverty reduction and improved nutrition among the people. To alleviate this feminine marginalization in agricultural 25

Sabejeje, T. A., Olaniyan, R. F., Adebola, O. T., and Fadayomi, I. E. VIII. REFERENCES

production, governments should as a matter of urgency develop and implement programs such as cash transfer, employment guarantees and right to land ownership that target women. Women in developing countries too should endeavour to form small-scale women- centred agricultural co-operatives that will be formidable enough to pull resources, establish economics of scale and creating a collective bargaining power for resources, land right and market access. Speaking at a United Nation General Assembly event highlighting women’s role in agriculture, the Secretary of states, Hilary Rodman Clinton said “When we liberate the economic potentials of women, we elevate the economic performance of communities and the world at large.

Baina,W.(1987);Genetic Engineering for Almost Everybody. Penguin p.99,ISBN. 0140135014. Bruce,A. and Bruce, D.(1999); Engineering Genetics. The Ethics of Genetic Engineering, London. Earthscan Publications, ISBN 1853835706. Diamond and Chakrabarty, (1980); United State Supreme Court, June 16, 1980. 447n U.S. 303 No. 79-139. Fatubarin, A. (2006); Population Education. Keynotes Publishers Limited 1 Palm Lane, Ilesha, Nigeria. Food and Agricultural Organisation of United Nations (F.A.O.) 2001; Evaluation of allergenicity of genetically modified foods.Report of a joint FAO /who Export consultation on alllergenicity of foods derived from biotechnology. 22-25.Rome, Italy. Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (F.A.O.). (2011); Practical Guide; Basic Concepts of Food security. Htt//www.fao. org/docrep/013/a1936eoo.pdf.Retieved November,13, 2011. Kimbro,K., Rachel T.and Denny T.(2012); Individual, Family and Neighbourhood characteristics and Children,s Food insecurity.Journal of Applied Research on children 3. http;//digitalcommons. Library. tmc.edu childrenatrisk/vol.3/iss1/8. National Academy of Science(2001); Transgenic plants and World Agriculture. Washington. National Acedemy Press. USA. Thieman,W.J. and Pollandino, M.A.(2008); Introduction to biotechnology. Person/Benjamin Cummings. ISBN0321491459. World food Summit, Basic Information. (2005) http;//www.fas.usda.gov/icd/summit/basic html. Retried 2011-03-16.

VII. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Biotechnology has no doubt, brought a remarkable transformation in the agricultural sectors of many countries. Transgenic technology in particular, has been used to modify some desirable characteristics of plants and animals for the purpose of improving their quality, quantity and prolonged storage and safety for future use. The technique is now being developed for a number of important crop plants such as rice, cotton, soyabeans, oilseeds and a variety of vegetable crops like tomato, potatoes and lettuce. Also, through this technique, new varieties of plants are now being produced using bacterial or viral genes that confer tolerance to insect or disease pests and allow them to tolerate herbicides, making the herbicides more selective in their actions against weeds and allowing farmers to depend less on herbicides and other agrochemicals. The result of this is higher productivity, prolonged food storage at inexpensive but affordable costs to farmers. Increasing agricultural productivity is the key to increasing rural income and reducing food insecurity. For this to be achieved especially in any democratic society, the following important steps are hereby recommended; i. Boosting agricultural sectors especially in the areas of science and biotechnology, since the current agricultural yields are insufficient to feed the growing populations. ii. Assisting farmers especially the subsistence farmers to secure property and have free and unconditional access to government funds. iii. Enhancing human capital through education and improved health. iv. Preventing political, tribal and religious conflicts and running a democratic government that is based on principles of accountability, transparency and rule of law. This will no doubt make the society less vulnerable to food shortage and food insecurity. v. Farmers on their own part, should re-invest a sizable percentage of their profits into agriculture with the hope of increasing production and hence future profit .Higher profit normally translates into higher spending on technologies and strategies designed to boost food production.

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