Agroforestry biotechnology for sustainable agriculture on marginal lands

The dramatic increase in the global population combined with rapid industrialization in developing countries has placed great strains on global food and energy supplies. The UN-FAO estimated that the world population will exceed 9.7 billion in 2050. If we use energy and food at the present rate, we will need more than 3.5-times the current energy supply and 1.7-times the current food supply in 2050. To cope with these global crises in food and energy supply as well as environmental problems, the development of new eco-friendly industrial plant varieties for growth on marginal lands is urgently needed to ensure sustainable development. Plant biotechnology can be used as a tool to maximize plant productivity by introducing stress tolerance genes and metabolic genes responsible for increasing yield and improving functions. In the presentation, recent results on transgenic plants (sweetpotato, alfalfa and poplar) with enhanced tolerance to abiotic stresses are introduced. Sweetpotato represents an attractive crop that can be used to help solve the global food and environmental problems as an industrial bioreactor. Alfalfa is one of important legume forage crops on the global marginal lands. Poplar trees provide raw materials, help maintain biodiversity, protect land and water resources, and help mitigate the effect of climate change on global marginal lands.