Washington, DC
September 24, 2008
A new report by the National
Research Council today identified a list of emerging
technologies that may significantly boost agriculture in
sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Aiming to find innovations
with the potential to transform crop and animal production and
markets in the two regions, the report explores a range of
technologies -- some that are years from being implemented to
others that are available now but not widely applied in these
regions.
"In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, nearly 75 percent of the
people who live in dire poverty -- on less than $1 per day --
rely on agriculture to feed and support themselves," said Brian
A. Larkins, chair of the committee that wrote the report, and
associate vice chancellor for research and the John F. Davidson
and Marian J. Fuller Chair in Life Sciences at the University of
Nebraska, Lincoln. "Although technology is one of many factors
that determine a farmer's success, the right technological tools
could allow small-holder farmers to significantly increase their
agricultural output, income, and family welfare. A systemwide
approach to improve all elements of food production is needed,
and scientists locally and worldwide need to play a role in
developing and applying new technologies."
Of the 60 technologies identified in the report, the committee
recommended that nine be immediately developed into agricultural
applications for sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and nine
other "early-stage" technologies undergo further analysis to
better ascertain their potential and feasibility. The nine
available for immediate development are listed below, in no
particular order.
- Soil management systems
- Water management
techniques
- Climate and weather
prediction tools
- Sequencing of plant genes
- Genetic-based animal
breeding
- Plant-based gene silencing
- Biocontrol and
biopesticides
- Disease-suppressive soils
- Animal vaccines
The nine additional early-stage
technologies are nanomaterials for the slow release of
fertilizer; optimized plant root structure and associated
microbes; site-specific gene integration; remote sensing of
plants to determine growth and nutrient use; enhanced microbial
digestion of fiber in the rumen to improve livestock nutrition;
spermatagonial stem cell transplantation; solar photovoltaic and
solar thermal energy; photosynthetic microbe-based biofuels; and
energy storage devices that are alternatives to batteries. A
public meeting with committee members to discuss the findings of
the report will be held in September in Washington, D.C.
The report was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's
agricultural development initiative. The National Academy of
Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of
Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National
Academies. They are private, nonprofit institutions that provide
science, technology, and health policy advice under a
congressional charter. The Research Council is the principal
operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the
National Academy of Engineering. A committee roster follows.
Copies of Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in
Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are available from the
National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or
on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. Reporters may obtain a
copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts
listed above).
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Division on Earth and Life Studies
Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources
Committee on a Study of Technologies to Benefit Farmers in
Africa and South Asia
Brian A. Larkins * (chair)
The John F. Davidson and Marian J. Fuller Chair in Life Sciences
Department of Plant Sciences
University of Nebraska
Lincoln
Steven P. Briggs *
Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla
Deborah P. Delmer *
Associate Director of Food Security
Rockefeller Foundation (retired)
New York City
Richard P. Dick
Eminent Scholar in Soil Microbial Ecology
College of Natural Resources
Ohio State University
Columbus
Richard B. Flavell
Chief Scientific Officer
Ceres Inc.
Thousand Oaks, C.alif.
Jonathan Gressel
Professor Emeritus of Plant Sciences
Weizmann Institute of Science
Rehovot, Israel
Tsegaye Habtemariam
Dean
College of Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee, Ala.
Rattan Lal
Professor of Soil Sciences
Ohio State University
Columbus
Alice N. Pell
Vice Provost for International Relations,
Director
Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture, and
Development (CIIFAD), and
Professor of Animal Science,
Cornell University
Ithaca, N.Y.
Raymond J. St. Leger
Professor of Entomology
University of Maryland
College Park
Robert J. Wall
Research Physiologist
Animal Biosciences and Biotechnology Laboratory
U.S. Department of Agriculture; and
Adjunct Faculty Member
University of Maryland
Beltsville
RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
Robin Schoen
Board Director
Michael Ma
Visiting Program Officer
Peggy Tsai
Associate Program Officer
Ruthie Arieti
Senior Program Assistant
* Member, National Academy of Sciences |
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