Can gene editing be a game-changer in improving crop resilience and sustainability?

A Mexico-based research centre believes it may have hit the bull’s eye when it comes to using technology to enhance crop resilience. 

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is ramping up investments in a new technology called ‘gene editing’ that can improve resilience in crops such as wheat, maize and millets against drought, floods, and disease.

The centre’s director general, Bram Govaerts, calls gene editing a “future” technology as genetic modification (GM) faces protests by agriculturists and environmentalists.

“We are investing more in gene editing,” Govaerts said, acknowledging that GM or transgenic wheat varieties have failed to achieve commercial success even as such varieties face regulatory and technical challenges.

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On gene editing’s advantages, Govaerts explained that the technology stays “within the same crop” and accelerates “normal, traditional breeding processes”, which is why they see “a lot of options and future in gene editing”.

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