Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production

Introduction

As food is a necessity for almost every living creature, including human beings, its demand has increased manifold due to uncontrolled population growth. Unfortunately, this has also exposed the world to the problem of food scarcity. As a result, some strategies have been developed to counter this looming problem to enhance food production. Some of these significant strategies are plant breeding, animal breeding, outbreeding, interbreeding, single-cell protein, fisheries, and tissue culture. These strategies are discussed in detail below.

Plant Breeding

Plant breeding is a deliberate alteration of plant species to produce the desired varieties better-suited for growth and is more productive and resistant to disease.

The breeding procedure is as follows:

• Gene collection: The collection and preservation of genes of all varieties, species, and relatives of developed species
• An examination is carried out to identify plants with notable characteristics
• After the cross-hybridisation of the two species, the coveted characters are hereditarily transferred to one plant
• A complete assessment is made by growing these plants in an exploration field and observing their performance under an ideal manure application system and other crop management practices

Animal Breeding

Reproducing and raising domesticated animals by rational standards is a horticultural practice. India and China are home to the vast majority of the world’s domestic animal population (more than 70%). Despite this, their contribution to global farm production is only 25%, indicating low efficiency per unit. Thus, new strategies must be developed to improve quality and efficiency. Animal breeding is the management of livestock to expand milk and other animal-borne products. 

Some major characteristics of animal breeding are:

• The quality of the livestock affects the amount of milk produced
• Breeds of high quality and having resistance to diseases must be chosen
• The goal of animal breeding is to increase the number of animals produced while also improving the quality of the existing livestock

Animal breeding is characterised by two most common types: inbreeding and outbreeding.

Inbreeding

It is the breeding of all the related species with a comparable breed. The technique is as follows:

• The best females and the most superior males of the same breed are paired off.
• The offspring produced are evaluated, and the dominant males and females are identified for further reproduction.
• A superior female steer produces more milk per lactation than any other. 

Outbreeding

Outbreeding is the care and feeding of inconsequential animals. For example, interspecific hybridization and crossbreeding are included.

When animals of a similar breed with no common ancestors on either side of the family line mate, it is referred to as out-crossing. It alleviates the depression caused by genetic homogeneity. 

When the female and male animals from two different species are paired together, it is called interspecific hybridization. As a result, some of their heirs may combine the best qualities of both the animals and be highly valued.

Single-Cell Protein (SCP)

It can be used as a protein source for both humans and animals. One example of SCP is Spirulina. Protein, fat, vitamins, and sugar are all found in Spirulina. It is developed on wastewater from molasses, straw, potato handling plants, animal compost, and sewage.

Fisheries

Generally, this is the industry in which all aquatic animals are raised, processed, and sold to consumers in the form of food. Fishes and aquatic animals are significant sources of proteins. Presently, development in fish farming has taken place and several techniques like fish farming, inland fisheries, marine fisheries, have been applied in the ecosystem.

In fish farming, aquatic animals including fishes are farmed in an aqua farm to reproduce, which in turn results in production. Fish farming is divided into three sub techniques namely, extensive, intensive, and semi-intensive farming. Salmon, halibut, tuna, and trout are some common fishes which are produced through this technique.

Tissue Culture

It is a technique for growing plant cells, tissues, and organs under aseptic, controlled conditions in a sterile medium. Totipotency is the property of a cell to produce an entire plant. You need a source of carbohydrates like sucrose and other inorganic salts, vitamins, and other growth-controlling substances like cytokinins or auxins for this technique. 

Micropropagation is a term used to describe the process of creating a large number of plants in a short period using tissue culture. 

Some clones are genetically identical to the parent plant from which they descend. Products such as bananas, apples, and tomatoes can all be delivered this way. When a plant becomes infected, tissue culture can save its health. The development of virus-free plants is accomplished by extracting the meristem from the diseased plant. Scientists have improved the meristems of bananas, potatoes, sugarcane, and other crops.

Conclusion

We have learned all the major strategies that have been adopted by the modern world to enhance food production in the world. Interbreeding, crossbreeding, tissue culture, fish farming, and single-cell culture are some of the essential strategies.