Future trends in agriculture: the role of biotechnology

Agriculture has been responsible for the transformation of a substantial portion of the biosphere from wildscapes to landscapes. Ln view of the fact that human population is likely to increase by c 46% in the next two decades, pressure on agricultural systems and the biosphere will inevitably intensify. The expansion of agricultural systems into remaining wildscapes will occur and existing agricultural systems will intensify production. Biotechnology has a major role to play in both of these processes as a means of both conservation and ecological degradation. These issues are explored in this article.