Georg Jander, a professor at the Boyce Thompson Institute, spoke to the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry about the importance of supporting and funding emerging agricultural technologies. In his presentation titled “The Next Agricultural Revolution: Targeted Gene Editing Using CRISPR,” Jander emphasized the transformative impact of CRISPR technologies in agriculture.
Joining Jander were Dan Jenkins from Pairwise and Emily Negrin from Inari, who shared insights into how their companies are using CRISPR gene editing to improve crops. According to Jander, CRISPR has the potential to revolutionize agriculture by modifying crop genes to enhance desirable traits, suppress negative ones or introduce novel characteristics from different species. This new “green revolution” is enabling precise editing of plant genes something previously not possible.
CRISPR offers immense promise for enhancing food security, agricultural sustainability, and crop durability. The panel believes that these emerging technologies have the potential to significantly improve the agricultural industry and help address challenges such as food security and sustainability. They are calling on policymakers to support and fund these technologies to ensure their widespread adoption and integration into farming practices.