Biotechnology has been practiced since the beginning of recorded history. Baking bread, brewing alcoholic beverages, and breeding food crops or domestic animals all involve biotechnology. Recent developments in molecular biology have given biotechnology new meaning, new importance, and new potential.  It is “modern biotechnology” that has captured the attention of the public.  Modern biotechnology can have a dramatic effect on the world economy and society. It is a broad collection of tools and these tools can be applied for a range of different purposes (e.g. genetic improvement of plant varieties and animal populations to increase their yields or efficiency; genetic characterization and conservation of genetic resources; disease diagnosis and vaccine development; improvement of feeds).

Some of the technologies may be applied to all the food and agriculture sectors, such as the use of molecular DNA markers or genetic modification, while others are more sector-specific, such as vegetative reproduction (crops and forest trees), embryo transfer and freezing (livestock) or triploidization and sex reversal (fish).

Ethiopia is a country where more than 85% of the population is rural and makes their daily lives on agricultural outputs. According to Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nation (FAO) biotechnology provides powerful tools for the sustainable development of agriculture, fisheries and forestry, as well as the food industry and that when appropriately integrated with other technologies for the production of food, agricultural products and services, it can be of significant assistance in meeting the needs of an expanding and increasingly urbanized population. Read More