● Biotechnology, essentially deals with industrial scale production of `color{violet}("biopharmaceuticals")` and `color{violet}(" biologicals")` using
genetically modified `color{violet}("microbes, fungi, plants")` and `color{violet}("animals")`.

● The applications of biotechnology include `color{violet}("therapeutics, diagnostics")`, genetically modified `color{violet}("crops for agriculture,
processed food, bioremediation, waste treatment, and energy production")`.

● Three critical research areas of biotechnology are:

(i) Providing the best catalyst in the form of `color{violet}("improved organism")` usually a `color{violet}("microbe or pure enzyme")`.

(ii) Creating `color{violet}("optimal conditions")` through engineering for a catalyst to act

(iii) Downstream processing technologies to `color{violet}("purify the protein/organic")` compound.

● There are three options that can be thought for `color{violet}("increasing food production")`

(i) `color{Brown}"Agro-chemical"` based agriculture

(ii) `color{Brown}("Organic"` agriculture; and

(iii) `color{Brown}("Genetically engineered"` crop-based agriculture.

● The `color{violet}("Green Revolution")` succeeded in `color{violet}("tripling the food supply")` but yet it was not enough to feed the growing human population.

● `color{violet}("Increased yields")` have partly been due to the use of `color{violet}("improved crop varieties")`, but mainly due to the use of better management practices and use of `color{violet}("agrochemicals (fertilisers and pesticides)")`.

● However, for farmers in the developing world, `color{violet}("agrochemicals")` are often too expensive, and further increases in yield with existing varieties are not possible using `color{violet}("conventional breeding")`.

● `color{violet}("Plants, bacteria, fungi and animals")` whose genes have been altered by `color{violet}("manipulation")` are called `color{violet}("Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)")`.

● GM plants have been `color{violet}("useful")` in many ways.

● Genetic modification has:

(i) Made crops more `color{violet}("tolerant")` to `color{violet}("abiotic stresses (cold, drought, salt, heat)")`.

(ii) Reduced reliance on `color{violet}("chemical pesticides (pest-resistant crops)")`.

(iii) Helped to reduce `color{violet}("post harvest losses")`.

(iv) `color{violet}("Increased efficiency")` of mineral usage by plants (this prevents early exhaustion of fertility of soil).

(v) `color{violet}("Enhanced nutritional")` value of food, e.g., Vitamin ‘A’ enriched rice.

● In addition to these uses, GM has been used to create `color{violet}("tailor-made plants")` to supply alternative resources to industries, in the form of `color{violet}("starches, fuels and pharmaceuticals")`.

● Some of the applications of biotechnology in agriculture are the production of `color{violet}("pest resistant plants")`, which could `color{violet}("decrease the amount of pesticide used")`.