In a recent presentation to the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Boyce Thompson Institute professor Georg Jander urged policymakers to support and finance emerging agricultural technologies, specifically CRISPR gene editing. During his speech titled “The Next Agricultural Revolution: Targeted Gene Editing Using CRISPR,” Jander emphasized the transformative impact of these technologies in agriculture.

Jander explained how CRISPR has the potential to revolutionize agriculture by enabling precise editing of plant genes, something previously not possible. This technology allows farmers to modify crop genes to enhance desirable traits, suppress negative ones, or introduce novel characteristics from different species. According to Jander, this offers immense promise for enhancing food security, agricultural sustainability, and crop durability.

Dan Jenkins from Pairwise and Emily Negrin from Inari shared insights into how their companies are using CRISPR gene editing to improve crops. They joined Jander in highlighting the benefits of these emerging technologies and calling on policymakers to support and fund them for widespread adoption and integration into farming practices.