Biotechnology has the potential to help improve soil health, according to
David Montgomery, author of Dirt, The Erosion of Civilizations and a
professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington. He said this
during the World Congress on Conservation Agriculture held on June 22-25,
2014 in Indiana, USA.



He explained that biotech can help improve soil health, but it is not
happening yet. "But I would basically argue that if we reframed how we
evaluate agriculture to be towards building soil and building soil
fertility, then the degree to which anything, GMO products included, could
work towards that goal should be considered," he said. He stressed that
biotechnology does not need to be against conservation agriculture; instead
they can go hand in hand. For instance, plants could be engineered to
facilitate symbiosis with soil bacteria similar to what happens between
legumes and ribosomes, he explains.



Furthermore, philanthropist, businessman and farmer, Howard Buffet also
believes that biotechnology and conservation agriculture are compatible. "I
think we just have to be inclusive and understand that there is a place for
everything and that if we can get those things in the appropriate places at
the appropriate use, then we're going to have a lot of wins...If all we're
going to do is spend our time debating what's good and bad and alienate
everybody, and pick sides we're going to lose a lot more than we're going to
win," said Buffet.



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