Biotechnology offers prospects in addressing problems concerned with agricultural productivity and environmental safety. In order to cope up with the ever increasing population of the current world, biotechnological intervention to supplement conventional plant breeding efforts is indispensable. Some of the issues that can be addressed using biotechnological techniques are crop production of superior quality, mass production of uniform planting materials, compensate land shortages and genetic improvement of the plant.

    A few of the advantages perceived in the use of biotechnology in agriculture are rapid multiplication of plant species, breeding of resistant varieties, diagnosis and control of disease in crop and livestock, utilization of crop residues and animal waste. Some of the disadvantages are high cost of research and development, endangering biodiversity, genetic erosion and lack of access for poor farmers to use new varieties. Thus, in introducing biotechnology in agriculture, it is vitally important to study and assess the overall circumstances, such as cost effectiveness and impact on environment.

    Agriculture is of primary importance in the National Development Program. Biotechnology, as a new frontier in agricultural sciences, has opened new avenues for the solution of agricultural problems. The application of biotechnology in agriculture offers many possibilities for filling the gaps found in conventional research methods and is therefore, not intended to replace all conventional methods, but to provide a more reliable approach in achieving economic gains. Many new tools are now available, particularly from research in the areas of molecular biology, genetic engineering, and cell and tissue culture as well as from intensive application of microbial technology. The initiation of research and development in agricultural biotechnology dates back to the late 1970s when tissue culture techniques such as embryo culture and anther culture were first introduced as means to produce virus-free crops and improve crop quality in the production of vegetables, flowers and fruit trees. Virus free potatoes, garlic and strawberry are already in the market for farmers. Production of high yielding rice varieties are good examples of success achieved by the use of anther culture techniques in rice varietal improvement.

    Various technical barriers that have to be overcome are the establishment of transformation systems in agriculturally important food crops and regeneration of fertile plants from transgenic plants. In the areas of gene manipulation and transformation, well trained scientists are needed. Most of the laboratories involved in plant biotechnology carry out tissue culture research, mainly the development of media protocols for micropropagation. Over the years, methodologies for disease elimination by meristem culture and / or micropropagation and in vitrogermplasm conservation have been developed for fruit crops （banana, strawberry and pineapple）, root and tuber crops （potato and sweet potato）, ornamentals, cut flowers （orchids, lilies） and a few medicinal plants. Research is also underway to perfect micropropagation technology for tree species which are endemic. Tea, potato and banana are being produced on a commercial scale using established micropropagation techniques. A near commercial line of sugarcane, resistant to smut, has been produced through in vitromutagenesis. Molecular biology approaches for crop improvement have been conducted with little success.

    Evidently, all the countries have been able to recognize their objectives and goals more clearly in the use of biotechnology in agriculture and have initiated appropriate policies to meet some of the challenges posed by critical areas in directing future development. It is hoped that biotechnological approaches in agriculture will provide ways and means of utilizing its full potential to benefit the community.

    生物技术在解决农业产量和环境保护的问题上有着很好的前景。为了解决日益急剧的人口问题，生物技术的介入对于帮助传统的养殖业是很重要的。一些可以通过生物技术解决的问题包括高品质的庄稼的生产，大规模同一种种植原料的生产，弥补土地资源的不足以及种植物的基因改进。

    一些在农业方面生物技术的使用已经发现的优点有种植种类的增多，能培植具有抗性的品种，诊断并控制庄稼和家禽中的病症，庄稼残渣和家禽粪便的利用。一些缺点就是研究开发成本高，对生物多样性有害，基因种类减少，对贫穷的农民来说缺少使用新品种的渠道。因此，在把生物技术介入农业时，很重要的一点就是要对大环境做研究和评估分析，比如成本效益和对环境的影响。

    农业在国家发展计划中有着重要的地位。生物技术作为一门新的农业科学，已经为解决农业问题开辟了新的道路。生物技术在农业的应用提供了填补传统农业研究方法缺陷的许多可能性，而这不是要完全取代传统的研究方法，只是提供一个更可靠的方法来获得经济收益。现在有许多科学工具可以使用，尤其是从分子生物学，基因工程学和细胞组织培育学的研究，还有从微生物学的加强应用。农业领域的生物技术研究与开发最初可以追溯到20世纪70年代，那时候组织培育技术比如胚胎培育和花粉培育作为最先介入的手段来生产完全无病毒的农作物和改善如蔬菜，花卉和水果的生产质量。无病毒的土豆，洋葱和草莓已经有在农民中有市场了，得到了农民的认可。高产量的稻类品种就是花粉培育技术在稻子品种改善的成功案例。

    一些必须克服的技术障碍有：在重要的农业食品种植物中转换系统的建立和从转基因种植物中优质的植物的再生。在基因种类增长和转换的研究领域里，需要有专业技术的科学家。大多数参与种植物生物技术研究的实验室都会进行组织培育的研究，主要是对微细增殖的媒介规律的开发，经过几年的时间，通过分裂组织培育和细微增殖以及外胚质保留的研究所得出的一套去除种植物病毒的方法结论已经应用于水果的种植中（比如香蕉，草莓和菠萝）,还有根和茎种植物（土豆和甘薯）,观赏性的植物，插花（兰花，百合）以及一些药草。还有一些用来完善地方性树木的微细增殖技术应用的研究也在进行中。茶叶，土豆和香蕉在已有的细微增殖技术的帮助下已经达到生产商业化了。还有一个比较接近的甘蔗商业化路线，生产过程无污染，已经通过体外基因诱变技术开始生产了。分子生物技术对于种植物改善还没有取得很大的突破。

    很明显，所有的国家应经更清晰地认识到他们在农业领域里的生物技术运用的目标，并采取了适当的政策来应对来自未来发展关键领域的挑战。人们都希望农业领域的生物技术手段能发挥它所有的潜力来造福社会。