Technological advances can reach far beyond robotics, automation, sensors, or the predictive and analytical capabilities of artificial intelligence. In a way, the use of transgenic organismshas already begun to revolutionize agriculture, although not always in the desirable direction.

The advantages of biotechnology are abundant, and allow us to develop more productive plants, capable of producing enriched foods, and even surviving in adverse situations where other plants fail.

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The next step in this revolution is given by CRISPR technology. The agriculture of the future, or at least an optimal future, includes gene editing in its catalogue. In general, traditional breeding is unlikely to be enough to meet growing demand for food.

In this sense, CRISPR could overcome these limitations and accelerate the genetic improvement of plants in a way that we cannot yet glimpse. But in order to take advantage of all its potential benefits and achieve good agriculture in the future, much more research will be needed to resolve its technical uncertainties and appropriate legal regulation, which considers the use of CRISPR as a new method of reproduction, capable of producing desired results. more predictably than conventional methods, much faster, and probably cheaper.

[Editor’s note: This article has been translated from Spanish and edited for clarity]

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