Food can be produced much more cheaply today because of improved fertilisers and better machinery. However, some of the methods used to do this may be dangerous to human health and may have negative effects on local communities. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Yesterday’s fiction is today’s reality. Such colossal developments have taken place in agriculture which we could not even think of earlier. It is a highly debated issue as to whether these improvements in fertilisers and technology are a blessing or a curse. In my opinion, there are both pros and cons of this situation but the advantages are much more than disadvantages.

On the positive side, farmers now have a wide range of selection, in terms of seeding, irrigation and use of pesticides and fertilizers. Technology has saved people from tedious work and in the mean time increased the production markedly. Machines save the cost of labour and also save time, so productivity has increased dramatically. All this is needed to meet the demands of the burgeoning population.

Furthermore, genetic modification of foods has given us such species which need little or no insecticides and no fertilizers. The quality of food has also improved. For example, fish gene has been added to tomato to make it frost resistant. A nut protein has been added to soya bean to increase the protein content. We have more choices and even the colour and shape can also be changed. We have sweeter fruits and square watermelons and yellow coloured ones. Finally, factory farming, in which animals are fed nicely so as to increase their meat, is also the need of the hour.

On the downside, such technology has reduced the need for manpower and many people are now jobless. This has a negative effect on communities. Genetic modification is also considered unnatural and as it is relatively new, people are also concerned about its long term harmful effects. Some methods are also dangerous to environment as there is contamination of the neighbouring crops by the altered gene pool. Last but not least, the rich countries can use this technology and further increase the gap between the rich and the poor.

To put it in a nutshell, I pen down saying that as every garden has weeds, such developments have their pros and cons. We should know where to draw the line and take maximum advantage of this technology minimising its harmful effects.