Bioengineering: Better photosynthesis increases yields in food crops
For the first time, RIPE researchers have demonstrated in field tests that multigene photosynthetic bioengineering boosts the yield of a significant food crop. After more than ten years of effort, a multidisciplinary team led by the University of Illinois has successfully transgenically modified soybean plants to boost photosynthetic efficiency, resulting in higher yields without compromising quality. Results of this importance could not have arrived at a more critical moment. According to the most recent UN report, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022, nearly 10% of the world's population experienced hunger in 2021, a problem that has been steadily getting worse over the past few years and is now more severe than all other risks to the world's health combined. More than 660 million people are anticipated to experience food scarcity and malnutrition by 2030, according to UNICEF. Ineffective food supply chains (access to food) and more difficult crop-growin...