Assistant Secretary of State Jose Fernandez Reaffirms U.S. Support of Agricultural Biotech
By Richard L. Lobb, Managing Director
Council for Biotechnology Information
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jose Fernandez has strongly reaffirmed the government’s support of agricultural biotechnology as a way to produce the food needed by a growing world population. Biotech can help “produce more food using less land, less water, less fertilizer and less pesticide,” he says.
“Agricultural biotechnology has already shown it can increase crop yields dramatically,” Fernandez says. “Just to give you an idea of how dramatically: Over the past 15 years, agricultural biotechnology has enabled the production of 229 million more tons of food, feed, and fiber.”
In a video released by the State Department, where he is in charge of economic and business affairs, Fernandez said the nations of the world will need to increase global food production 70 percent by the year 2050.