Biotechnology and plant breeding - part of the green transition

Denmark's competencies in biotechnology are indisputable and the potential for further achievements is obvious. Of course, biotechnology and plant breeding cannot stand alone in reducing Danish agriculture's CO2 emissions, but why not use it to help supply the rest of the world with green solutions?

But how do we do it?

Some methods have greater potential than others and the perspectives are very different. Plant breeding and biotechnology are often long-term, but the technologies can also be effective in a shorter time perspective. In order to realize as many potentials as possible, we must look both at the 2030 perspective and at a perspective that is 20-30 years ahead.

When we talk about plants, in the short term we can look at our existing crops and their untapped potentials. It can, for example, be in the areas of productivity, perenniality, and resilience.

In the long run, as plant breeding is, it is very much about creating the necessary genetic variation that meets the climategoals. Here we work with the new plant breeding techniques as an important tool.

Just one piece of the puzzle

Common to both the short and the long perspective is that biotechnology and plant breeding are only part of the puzzle. We need to integrate our research with the other pieces of the puzzle in order to realize its full potential. CGB's collaboration with the department's other competencies is therefore very important. Although we work with different techniques, we have a lot in common. Our research plays directly into the green transition, and if we collaborate, we can really take advantage of this both in the research and to a large extent also in our educations.

If you have teenage children, you have probably noticed their interest in green development, they want to educate themselves in that direction. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are also in a very favorable position.