Biotechnology offers prospects in addressing problems concerned with agricultural productivity and environmental safety. In order to cope up with the ever increasing population of the current world, biotechnological intervention to supplement conventional plant breeding efforts is indispensable. Some of the issues that can be addressed using biotechnological techniques are crop production of superior quality, mass production of uniform planting materials, compensate land shortages and genetic improvement of the plant.

    A few of the advantages perceived in the use of biotechnology in agriculture are rapid multiplication of plant species, breeding of resistant varieties, diagnosis and control of disease in crop and livestock, utilization of crop residues and animal waste. Some of the disadvantages are high cost of research and development, endangering biodiversity, genetic erosion and lack of access for poor farmers to use new varieties. Thus, in introducing biotechnology in agriculture, it is vitally important to study and assess the overall circumstances, such as cost effectiveness and impact on environment.

    Agriculture is of primary importance in the National Development Program. Biotechnology, as a new frontier in agricultural sciences, has opened new avenues for the solution of agricultural problems. The application of biotechnology in agriculture offers many possibilities for filling the gaps found in conventional research methods and is therefore, not intended to replace all conventional methods, but to provide a more reliable approach in achieving economic gains. Many new tools are now available, particularly from research in the areas of molecular biology, genetic engineering, and cell and tissue culture as well as from intensive application of microbial technology. The initiation of research and development in agricultural biotechnology dates back to the late 1970s when tissue culture techniques such as embryo culture and anther culture were first introduced as means to produce virus-free crops and improve crop quality in the production of vegetables, flowers and fruit trees. Virus free potatoes, garlic and strawberry are already in the market for farmers. Production of high yielding rice varieties are good examples of success achieved by the use of anther culture techniques in rice varietal improvement.

    Various technical barriers that have to be overcome are the establishment of transformation systems in agriculturally important food crops and regeneration of fertile plants from transgenic plants. In the areas of gene manipulation and transformation, well trained scientists are needed. Most of the laboratories involved in plant biotechnology carry out tissue culture research, mainly the development of media protocols for micropropagation. Over the years, methodologies for disease elimination by meristem culture and / or micropropagation and in vitrogermplasm conservation have been developed for fruit crops （banana, strawberry and pineapple）, root and tuber crops （potato and sweet potato）, ornamentals, cut flowers （orchids, lilies） and a few medicinal plants. Research is also underway to perfect micropropagation technology for tree species which are endemic. Tea, potato and banana are being produced on a commercial scale using established micropropagation techniques. A near commercial line of sugarcane, resistant to smut, has been produced through in vitromutagenesis. Molecular biology approaches for crop improvement have been conducted with little success.

    Evidently, all the countries have been able to recognize their objectives and goals more clearly in the use of biotechnology in agriculture and have initiated appropriate policies to meet some of the challenges posed by critical areas in directing future development. It is hoped that biotechnological approaches in agriculture will provide ways and means of utilizing its full potential to benefit the community.

    生物技術在解決農業(yè)產(chǎn)量和環(huán)境保護的問題上有著很好的前景。為了解決日益急劇的人口問題，生物技術的介入對于幫助傳統(tǒng)的養(yǎng)殖業(yè)是很重要的。一些可以通過生物技術解決的問題包括高品質的莊稼的生產(chǎn)，大規(guī)模同一種種植原料的生產(chǎn)，彌補土地資源的不足以及種植物的基因改進。

    一些在農業(yè)方面生物技術的使用已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)的優(yōu)點有種植種類的增多，能培植具有抗性的品種，診斷并控制莊稼和家禽中的病癥，莊稼殘渣和家禽糞便的利用。一些缺點就是研究開發(fā)成本高，對生物多樣性有害，基因種類減少，對貧窮的農民來說缺少使用新品種的渠道。因此，在把生物技術介入農業(yè)時，很重要的一點就是要對大環(huán)境做研究和評估分析，比如成本效益和對環(huán)境的影響。

    農業(yè)在國家發(fā)展計劃中有著重要的地位。生物技術作為一門新的農業(yè)科學，已經(jīng)為解決農業(yè)問題開辟了新的道路。生物技術在農業(yè)的應用提供了填補傳統(tǒng)農業(yè)研究方法缺陷的許多可能性，而這不是要完全取代傳統(tǒng)的研究方法，只是提供一個更可靠的方法來獲得經(jīng)濟收益。現(xiàn)在有許多科學工具可以使用，尤其是從分子生物學，基因工程學和細胞組織培育學的研究，還有從微生物學的加強應用。農業(yè)領域的生物技術研究與開發(fā)最初可以追溯到20世紀70年代，那時候組織培育技術比如胚胎培育和花粉培育作為最先介入的手段來生產(chǎn)完全無病毒的農作物和改善如蔬菜，花卉和水果的生產(chǎn)質量。無病毒的土豆，洋蔥和草莓已經(jīng)有在農民中有市場了，得到了農民的認可。高產(chǎn)量的稻類品種就是花粉培育技術在稻子品種改善的成功案例。

    一些必須克服的技術障礙有：在重要的農業(yè)食品種植物中轉換系統(tǒng)的建立和從轉基因種植物中優(yōu)質的植物的再生。在基因種類增長和轉換的研究領域里，需要有專業(yè)技術的科學家。大多數(shù)參與種植物生物技術研究的實驗室都會進行組織培育的研究，主要是對微細增殖的媒介規(guī)律的開發(fā)，經(jīng)過幾年的時間，通過分裂組織培育和細微增殖以及外胚質保留的研究所得出的一套去除種植物病毒的方法結論已經(jīng)應用于水果的種植中（比如香蕉，草莓和菠蘿）,還有根和莖種植物（土豆和甘薯）,觀賞性的植物，插花（蘭花，百合）以及一些藥草。還有一些用來完善地方性樹木的微細增殖技術應用的研究也在進行中。茶葉，土豆和香蕉在已有的細微增殖技術的幫助下已經(jīng)達到生產(chǎn)商業(yè)化了。還有一個比較接近的甘蔗商業(yè)化路線，生產(chǎn)過程無污染，已經(jīng)通過體外基因誘變技術開始生產(chǎn)了。分子生物技術對于種植物改善還沒有取得很大的突破。

    很明顯，所有的國家應經(jīng)更清晰地認識到他們在農業(yè)領域里的生物技術運用的目標，并采取了適當?shù)恼�策來應對來自未來發(fā)展關鍵領域的挑戰(zhàn)。人們都希望農業(yè)領域的生物技術手段能發(fā)揮它所有的潛力來造福社會。