siliconindia | | October 20208HARNESSING MICROBIOME REPLENISHMENT TECHNOLOGY TO PAINT THE PLANET BLUE AND GREENBy Dr. Ganesh Kamath, Director, Organica Biotech he COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to press the reset button on every facet of life as we know it. It has served as a brutal reminder that eco-consciousness and sustain-ability are not just buzz words, but the key to the survival of all life on the planet. With the human popula-tion poised to touch a staggering 10 billion by the year 2050, the three issues our future depends upon are: food security, effective sanitation & solid waste management.Believe it or not, a part of the an-swer to these pressing issues resides with organisms that cannot even be seen without the help of a micro-scope. Microbes have existed on this planet ever since the oceans began to churn and will in all probability, outlive all the other species that ex-ist on this planet today. If a tiny virus like the COVID-19 has the power to bring the entire planet to a screeching halt, surely there are microbes that if harnessed well, benefit the world as well! So what makes these critters so special? The sheer ability to sur-vive extreme environments, changing weather patterns, adaptability when it comes to food, make microbes the most tenacious organisms this plan-et has birthed. From growing better food, creating alternative fuels, better hygiene and sanitation, cleaner water, all can be achieved with the help of these super organisms. If harnessed efficiently, they can serve to be the ultimate green product.Microbes can ensure no one goes hungryThe issue of global food security is becoming increasingly hard to ig-nore. Simply put, too many mouths to feed, not enough food being made. Agriculture today is plagued with problems like biologically infertile soils, inadequate irrigation resources, excessive use of chemical inputs and increasingly erratic weather patterns due to climate change. Bringing sus-tainability to agricultural practices is the need of the hour. Microbes breathe life into our soils and have gradually been phased out due to unsustainable practices. When harnessed & applied system-atically microbes can pave the way for efficient crop nutrition & protec-tion, in a sustainable manner. Mi-crobial presence has also proven to positively influence the quality of nu-Dr. Kamath is widely known for his achievement in drug delivery and drug system optimization. He has various research papers under his name.Tin my OpinionGanesh Kamath, Director
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