26 August 2022
By 2050, the world will need to produce 60-70% more food than what it is already producing to feed an anticipated population of 9.3 billion people. A large proportion of this demand is expected to come from the developing world. With India’s population set to reach 1.7 billion by 2050, its annual domestic food production must increase to 333 million tonnes against the current level of 252 million tonnes. But the farming-as-usual approach would significantly reduce natural resources. High-yielding, pest-resistant genetically modified (GM) crops are often put forth as one of the tools to solve prospective food shortages in a changing environment.