Harnessing CRISPR for Drought-Resistant Crops: A Breakthrough in Food Security
Climate change poses one of the greatest threats to global food production. As weather patterns become increasingly unpredictable and prolonged droughts intensify, traditional crop varieties struggle to meet the nutritional needs of a growing population. In this context, gene-editing technologies like CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) offer a powerful tool to enhance plant resilience, particularly in the development of drought-resistant crops. This article explores how CRISPR is transforming agricultural biotechnology and what it means for food security, sustainability, and the future of farming. The Challenge of Drought in Agriculture Drought stress adversely affects plant physiology, including reduced germination rates, impaired photosynthesis, and stunted growth. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), droughts account for over 34% of crop losses globally, disproportionately affecting smallholder farmers in arid and semi-arid reg...
