topic Research

Ensuring Sustainable Agricultural Production

In the long term, agriculture will also be significantly affected by the effects of climate change, and will be confronted by the challenges of soil deterioration, water shortages, floods, and the spread of plant pests. Determined engagement - above all in agricultural research and the biosciences - will be essential if the challenge of global food security is to be properly addressed. This is a pressing issue given the typical number of years that elapse from the commencement of a research project to the practical transfer of results to the agricultural world.

The area of plant breeding is focused on the expansion of the productive potential of crops, on stabilizing yields through improved resistance to pathogens, and on enhanced tolerance - among other things to heat, drought, cold and salinity. This necessitates an improved understanding of the causes and effects of these abiotic and biotic stress factors - as well as the respective plant reaction mechanisms - so that this knowledge can be applied in plant breeding and cultivation. Likewise, substantial research efforts will also be key to ensuring that the increases in productivity required to meet growing global demand for foodstuffs of animal origin are in harmony with humans and animals, nature, and the environment.

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  topic Research

  Biological Safety Research

  Genetically modified plants are not only cultivated and monitored under laboratory conditions, but under outdoor conditions as well. Increasing our knowledge of the behaviour of genetically modified plants and monitoring the impact of their applications are a must for the responsible utilization of this new technology. None of the research projects funded by the BMBF have found any scientific evidence of negative ecological effects caused by the genetically modified plants under examination.
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